| Chionophila tweedyi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chionophylla tweedyi, Montana, USA | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Chionophila |
| Species: | C. tweedyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Chionophila tweedyi | |
Chionophila tweedyi, or Tweedy's snowlover, is a perennial herb in the plantain family. It is native to Idaho and Montana in the western United States.
Tweedy's snowlover has challenged taxonomists. It was first published as Penstemon tweedyi by William Marriott Canby and Joseph Nelson Rose in March 1890, named in honor of Frank Tweedy, the first to collect it. [1] Tweedy's specimen, an isotype, is deposited at Gray Herbarium at Harvard University. [2] The location of the holotype is unknown. [3]
Just a few months later, in June 1900, Louis Forniquet Henderson moved Tweedy's snowlover to the genus Chionophila. In his publication, he made clear the classification difficulties presented by this plant. "For some time the writer was impressed with the necessity of making a new genus to fit this plant, but the more carefully he weighed each point the more convinced he was that the plant could more naturally be placed in Chionophila." He went on to compare it in detail to Chionophila jamesii, the only other species in the genus, ending with: "To sum up, then, the two plants resemble one another in the ovary and seeds, in the stamens fertile and sterile, in the upper parts of the corollas, in the leaves and their bases, and in their blackening when dried. They depart from one another in the inflorescence, in the corolla-base, in the hairiness of the lower corolla lip, and in the shape of calyx." Henderson had considered placing Tweedy's snowlover in the genus Collinsia, but found greater similarity to Chionophila jamesii. [4]
Per Axel Rydberg disagreed with Henderson's placement of Tweedy's snowlover in the genus Chionophila. In his Flora of the Rocky Mountains (1917), he assigned it to a new genus, Pentstemonopis. But Rydberg's Pentstemonopsis was not widely used, and is no longer accepted. The currently accepted name is Chionophila tweedyi. [5]
Rydberg's 1917 Flora included all three genera to which Tweedy's snowlover has been assigned, and the identification key to genera provided distinguishing features, again showing Tweedy's snowlover's recalcitrance when subjected to classification. Those easily seen are listed here: [6]
Chionophila tweedyi is a perennial herb growing up to 30 cm (12 in) tall. Plants are glabrous (no hairs) below, and glandular-hairy above. Its leaves are mostly basal, slender but widening above, and as much as 9 cm (3.5 in) long. Its stem leaves are few, in 1 or 2 pairs, and much smaller. The inflorescence contains 4 to 10 flowers arranged in a one-sided raceme, with each flower subtended by a pair of bracts. The corolla is white and lavender, tubular, 2-lipped, and as much as 13 cm (5.1 in) long. [5] [7]
Chionophila tweedyi is one of two species in the genus. In C. jamesii , which is endemic to south central Wyoming, Colorado, and northern New Mexico, the inflorescence is dense and spikelike with overlapping flowers. In C. tweedyi, flowers are widely spaced with the rachis (stem) clearly visible. [8]
Chionophila tweedyi is endemic to the northern Rocky Mountains in central Idaho and southwestern Montana. [9] It has been collected from talus and wet meadows near timber line. [5] The high-elevation affinity of Tweedy's snowlover is reflected in both its common name, 'snowlover', and in the generic name: Greek chion for snow, and philios for loving. [8]
Frank Tweedy of the US Geological Survey was the first to collect Tweedy's snowlover, from subalpine bogs at 9,500 ft (2,900 m) elevation, in Beaverhead County, Montana, in 1888. [2] Though a topographer by profession, he was highly regarded for his botanical work. In their publication of the new species, Canby and Rose described Tweedy as "a zealous collector in this region for the past eight years", and noted his authorship of Flora of the Yellowstone National Park. [1]
Tweedy's snowlover is ranked G4, i.e., apparently secure overall. [10] It is ranked S4 in Montana, where it's restricted to the western part of the state, but locally common in suitable habitat. [7]
Penstemon palmeri, the Palmer's penstemon, is a perennial penstemon notable for its showy, rounded flowers, and for being one of the few scented penstemons. The plant, in the family Plantaginaceae, is named after the botanist Edward Palmer.
Mertensia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants with blue or sometimes white flowers that open from pink-tinged buds. Such a change in flower color is common in Boraginaceae and is caused by an increase of pH in the flower tissue. Mertensia is one of several plants that are commonly called "bluebell". In spite of their common name, the flowers are usually salverform (trumpet-shaped) rather than campanulate (bell-shaped).
Chilopsis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants containing the single species Chilopsis linearis. It is known commonly as desert willow or desert-willow because of its willow-like leaves, but it is not a true willow – being instead a member of the catalpa family.
Cotyledon is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae. Mostly from Southern Africa, they also occur throughout the drier parts of Africa as far north as the Arabian peninsula.
Astragalus lemmonii, the Lemmon's milkvetch, is a rare plant of eastern California. It is a member of the bean family, the Leguminosae, and specifically a member of the subfamily Papilionoideae. The genus Astragalus is a large genus within this family; members of this genus are known as milkvetches or locoweeds. Close relatives of this particular species include Astragalus peckii and Astragalus lentiformis.
Bellendena montana, commonly known as mountain rocket, is a species of low-growing multi-stemmed shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to high-altitude subalpine and alpine regions in Tasmania, Australia. The prominent white flower spikes appear over summer, followed by small bright red or yellow fruit in late summer and autumn.
Alloxylon pinnatum, known as Dorrigo waratah, is a tree of the family Proteaceae found in warm-temperate rainforest of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has shiny green leaves that are either pinnate (lobed) and up to 30 cm (12 in) long, or lanceolate (spear-shaped) and up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The prominent pinkish-red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear in spring and summer; these are made up of 50 to 140 individual flowers arranged in corymb or raceme. These are followed by rectangular woody seed pods, which bear two rows of winged seeds.
Penstemon degeneri is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Degener's beardtongue. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it occurs in and around the Arkansas River Canyon in Fremont, Custer, and Chaffee Counties.
Penstemon franklinii, or Franklin's penstemon, is a plant species endemic to Utah, United States, known only from Cedar Valley in Iron County. It grows in grasslands and in sagebrush communities.
Erigeron tweedyi, Tweedy's fleabane, is a perennial herb in the daisy family. It is native to the Rocky Mountains in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Nymphoides crenata, commonly known as wavy marshwort, is an aquatic perennial herb of the family Menyanthaceae endemic to Australia, found in all mainland states and the Northern Territory
Cecarria is a monotypic genus in the family Loranthaceae. The sole species is Cecarria obtusifolia, a hemiparasitic aerial shrub.
Vicia canescens is a species of legume in the vetch genus that is endemic to Lebanon.
Frank Tweedy (1854–1937) was an American topographer and botanist. He worked on pioneering surveys first in the Adirondacks, and then in the American West. He also made major contributions to our knowledge of the western flora and vegetation. He is perhaps best known for his studies in Yellowstone National Park.
Astragalus tweedyi, or Tweedy's milkvetch, is a perennial herb in the pea family. It is native to Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
Ivesia tweedyi, Tweedy's mousetail or Tweedy's ivesia, is a perennial herb in the rose family. It is native to the Pacific Northwest in the United States, from Washington east to westernmost Montana.
Calamagrostis tweedyi, the Cascade reedgrass or Tweedy's reedgrass, is a perennial in the grass family. It is native to the Pacific Northwest in the United States, in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Desmodium tweedyi is an herbaceous flowering plant in the pea family native to northern Texas and southern Oklahoma popularly known as "Tweedy's ticktrefoil" or "tick-clover." The legume or seed pod it produces has given the species its common names from its ability to cling to clothing. Along with other species in the Desmodium genus, D. tweedyi has become a candidate for soil enrichment, suppression of insect pests, mulch and green manure production, and making "good fodder for animals including bobwhite, turkey, grouse, deer, cattle and goats.”
Gilia tweedyi, or Tweedy's gilia, is an annual plant in the phlox family. It is native to the northwestern United States.