Downingia | |
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Downingia concolor | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Campanulaceae |
Subfamily: | Lobelioideae |
Genus: | Downingia Torr. |
Type species | |
Downingia elegans | |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
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Downingia is a genus of 13 annual plants native to western North America and Chile. Commonly known as calico flowers, they are notable for forming mass displays of small but colorful blooms around vernal pools. A number are uncommon endemics in California.
The stems may be decumbent or erect, 10–40 cm in length, with narrow cauline leaves that may drop off before the flower develops. The flowers are typically inverted by the twisting of the ovary during blooming. Colors range from blue and pink to white, with the lower (larger) lip including a white or yellow patch. The lower lip generally consists of three lobes, while the upper lip is much smaller and has two lobes.
The genus is named after American horticulturalist A. J. Downing (1815-1852).
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
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Downingia bacigalupii | Bach's calicoflower or Bacigalupi's downingia | western United States from California to Idaho | |
Downingia bella | Hoover's calicoflower or Hoover's Downingia | Riverside County to areas in the Great Central Valley, California | |
Downingia bicornuta | doublehorn calicoflower | United States from California to Idaho | |
Downingia concolor | maroonspot calicoflower and fringed downingia | California | |
Downingia cuspidata | toothed calicoflower | California to Mexico | |
Downingia elegans | elegant calicoflower or Californian lobelia | western North America from California to British Columbia | |
Downingia insignis | harlequin calicoflower or cupped downingia | western United States from California to Idaho | |
Downingia laeta | Great Basin calicoflower | California to Saskatchewan | |
Downingia montana | Sierra calicoflower | California | |
Downingia ornatissima | folded calicoflower | California | |
Downingia pulchella | flat-face calicoflower or valley calicoflower | Tehachapi Mountains to the San Francisco Bay Area, California | |
Downingia pusilla | dwarf calicoflower | Chile and the US state of California | |
Downingia yina | Cascade calicoflower | Washington to northern California | |
Teucrium is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and flowers arranged in thyrses, the corolla with mostly white to cream-coloured, lobed petals.
Downingia bella, also known as Hoover's calicoflower or Hoover's Downingia, is a member of the Bellflower Family (Campanulaceae). The genus is named after A.J. Downing (1815–1852) a noted American horticulturist and landscape architect.
Salvia pratensis, the meadow clary or meadow sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Latin specific epithet pratensis means "of meadows", referring to its preferred habitat. It also grows in scrub edges and woodland borders.
Phalaenopsis equestris is a flowering plant of the orchid genus Phalaenopsis and native to Philippines and Taiwan. The inflorescence has 10 to 20 flowers of about 25 mm (1 in) diameter.
Downingia bacigalupii is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family (Campanulaceae) known by the common name Bach's calicoflower or Bacigalupi's downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of moist meadows and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with small diamond-shaped leaves at intervals. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each between one and two centimeters wide. The flower has two long upper lobes which may be flat and straight or curl back, and are usually dark-veined blue. The three lower lobes are fused into one three-toothed surface, which is dark-veined blue with two bright yellow blotches rimmed with white in the center. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule two to five centimeters long. The stamens are fused together into an erect purple stalk bearing the dark anthers.
Downingia bicornuta is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name doublehorn calicoflower and double-horned downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems.
Downingia concolor is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names maroonspot calicoflower and fringed downingia. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of ponds and vernal pool ecosystems in the northern part of the state.
Downingia cuspidata is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name toothed calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to California, where it is a resident of ponds, meadows, and vernal pool ecosystems throughout the state. Its range may extend into Mexico.
Downingia elegans is a species of flowering plants in the bellflower family known by the common names elegant calicoflower and Californian lobelia. This showy wildflower is native to western North America from California to British Columbia, where it is a resident of meadows and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with many pointed leaves. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each one half to two centimeters wide. The tubular flower has two long, narrow, pointed upper lobes which are generally rich purple. The lower lip is fused into one three-lobed surface, which is purple with a large blotch of white in the center. The lobes may be quite pointed. There is sometimes some yellow coloration near the mouth of the tube.
Downingia insignis is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names harlequin calicoflower and cupped downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems.
Downingia laeta is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Great Basin calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to western North America from California to Saskatchewan, where it is a resident of riverbanks, ponds, and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a thick erect stem with a few short, pointed leaves. Atop the stem is usually a single flower, which has an upper lip made up of two narrow, pointed lobes in shades of very light blue or purple, or white, and a lower lip which is a fusion of three lobes in the same color with two bright yellow spots and sometimes some purple or pink blotches or streaking.
Downingia montana is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Sierra calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to California, where it lives in the meadows and pine forests of the high mountains. Its range may extend into Oregon. This annual grows an erect stem, which may branch or not, with a few sparse small, pointed leaves. Atop the stem is usually one tubular flower. The upper lip is made up of two narrow, pointed lobes usually a shade of lavender, and the lower lip is the same color, with a central field of white and two prominent projections which may be colored yellow and dark purple. The lower lip has three lobes, each of which may have a tooth. The fruit is a capsule one to four centimeters long.
Downingia ornatissima is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name folded calicoflower. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of vernal pools and other wet places in the Central Valley. This annual grows an erect, branching stem with usually one tubular flower at the top of each branch. The flower has an upper lip made up of two narrow, pointed lobes in shades of light purple, and a lower lip made up of three lobes fused into one surface, which is the same color as the upper lip and has a central field of white with two prominent yellow projections. The flower is similar to those of other downingias, except it is lightly crinkled, with the upper lobes often curled back and the edges of the lower lobes uneven. The dark blue anther just emerges from where it is tucked between the upper lobes.
Utricularia bisquamata is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to southern Africa, where it can be found in Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, and South Africa. U. bisquamata grows as a terrestrial plant in damp, sandy or peaty soils among mosses by streams or wet depressions at altitudes from near sea level to 1,200 m (3,937 ft) in South Africa and up to 2,250 m (7,382 ft) in Angola. It was originally described and published by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1824.
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. One of several genera, commonly referred to as sage, it includes two widely used herbs, Salvia officinalis and Salvia rosmarinus.
Collinsia verna, or blue-eyed Mary, is a winter annual that is native to the eastern and central parts of North America but has become endangered in the states of New York and Tennessee. The flowers are bicolored white and blue. It is a plant of valley bottoms and moist bottom slopes, in areas with moderate lighting and requires some shade.
Galeopsis bifida is an annual plant native to Europe and Asia but now found in Canada and the northeastern, midwestern parts of the United States. It has many common names such as bifid hemp-nettle, split-lip hemp-nettle, common hemp-nettle, and large-flowered hemp-nettle. The genus name means weasel-like, referring to the corolla of the flower. It is often confused with other species of Lamiaceae such as Mentha arvensis, Dracocephalum parviflorum and Stachys pilosa.
Porterella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the bellflower family containing the single species Porterella carnosula, which is known by the common name fleshy porterella, or simply porterella.
Scutellaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits.
Pedicularis sylvatica, commonly known as common lousewort, is a plant species in the genus Pedicularis. It is native to central and northern Europe where it grows on moist acidic soils, moorland, grassy heathland and the drier parts of marshes.