Frasera coloradensis

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Frasera coloradensis
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Gentianaceae
Genus: Frasera
Species:
F. coloradensis
Binomial name
Frasera coloradensis
Synonyms

Swertia coloradensis

Frasera coloradensis is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names Colorado green gentian, or Colorado gentian, and Colorado frasera. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is limited to the southeastern corner of the state. [1]

This plant is a perennial herb with branching stems reaching 30 centimeters in height. The leaves have white margins. It is generally monocarpic, living for a few years, producing flowers just once, then dying. [1] [2] The flowers, which are white or greenish with purple dots, appear in June and July. [1]

This plant occurs in Baca, Bent, Las Animas, and Prowers Counties in Colorado. It is mostly limited to the Greenhorn Limestone, a geological formation appearing as limestone outcrops. [2] It may also occur on Graneros shale and Dakota sandstone. [1] The habitat is shortgrass prairie. It may occur with Juniperus monosperma and Haplopappus engelmannii . [2]

Threats to this species include overgrazing, herbicides, and habitat loss and degradation. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gentiana</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Gentianaceae

Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostly large, trumpet-shaped flowers, which are often of an intense blue.

Gentianaceae Family of flowering plants comprising gentians

Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 103 genera and about 1600 species.

<i>Viola persicifolia</i>

Viola persicifolia, the fen violet, is a violet, native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia. In the British Isles it is very rare, occurring in a few fens in England and near the western coast of Northern Ireland.

Gentianopsis simplex is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name oneflower fringed gentian. It is native to the western United States, where it is most common in moist mountain habitats. This is an annual herb with erect stems which may be only a few centimeters or up to 40 centimeters in height. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and located at the base and occasionally along the stem. Each flower is borne at the end of a peduncle which may be quite long. The flower is one to four centimeters long and light to deep bluish-purple with white staining, especially inside. The flower is somewhat trumpet shaped, with a narrowing toward the mouth. The lobes are fringed along the edges and may be in a twisted or pinwheel arrangement. The fruit is a capsule containing ridged, pointed seeds.

<i>Frasera</i> Genus of plants

Frasera, the green gentians, is a genus in the gentian family, native to North America and named for John Fraser, a Scottish botanist and colleague of Thomas Walter.

<i>Centaurium exaltatum</i> Species of plant

Centaurium exaltatum is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names desert centaury and tall centaury. It is native to much of western North America from British Columbia to Arizona to Nebraska, where it grows in moist areas, generally with alkaline soils. This is an annual herb which is variable in appearance, especially in different habitat types. It grows up to about 35 centimeters in height, its slender stem with widely spaced pairs of oppositely arranged, pointed leaves 1 to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence is an open array of flowers, each on a pedicel which may be several centimeters in length. The flower has generally four or five white or pink lobes, each somewhat rolled to appear narrow in shape.

<i>Frasera albicaulis</i> Species of plant

Frasera albicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name whitestem frasera. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in open areas in mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a woody base surrounded by rosettes of leaves, its stem growing 10 to 70 centimeters tall. The leaves are green with white margins. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, up to 30 centimeters long, and borne on petioles. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and narrower and are oppositely arranged. The inflorescence is a dense panicle atop the stem, sometimes interrupted into a series of clusters of flowers. Each flower has a calyx of four pointed sepals and a corolla of four pointed lobes each one half to one centimeter long. The corolla is pale greenish white to light blue to purple, often dotted, streaked, or veined with darker blue. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary.

<i>Frasera albomarginata</i> Species of plant

Frasera albomarginata is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name desert green gentian, or desert frasera.

Frasera fastigiata is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name clustered green gentian. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in meadows and other mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb producing a single stem which grows erect and often exceeds a meter in height. The basal leaves have oval or spoon-shaped blades up to 30 centimeters long by 10 wide. Leaves higher on the stem may be smaller and narrower. Some of the leaves have white margins. The inflorescence is a dense panicle atop the stem, sometimes interrupted into a series of clusters of flowers. Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes each roughly a centimeter long. They are greenish, often tinged with yellow or blue. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary.

Frasera neglecta is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name pine green gentian.

<i>Frasera parryi</i> Species of plant

Frasera parryi is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name Coahuila frasera.

Frasera puberulenta is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name Inyo frasera.

<i>Frasera speciosa</i> Species of plant

Frasera speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family (Gentianaceae) known by the common names elkweed, deer's ears, and monument plant.

Frasera tubulosa is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name Kern frasera.

Hedeoma todsenii is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Todsen's pennyroyal, or Todsen's false pennyroyal. It is endemic to New Mexico in the United States, where it occurs in the San Andres and Sacramento Mountains. It is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.

Lewisia maguirei is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae known by the common name Maguire's lewisia, or Maguire's bitterroot. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from eastern Nye County.

<i>Frasera caroliniensis</i> Species of plant

Frasera caroliniensis, commonly known as American columbo or yellow gentian, is a herbaceous perennial of the gentian family Gentianaceae found in the deciduous forest of Southern Ontario and throughout the eastern and southeastern United States. It was previously known as Swertia caroliniensis.

Frasera gypsicola is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names Sunnyside green-gentian, Sunnyside elkweed, and Sunnyside frasera. It is native to southeastern Nevada and southwestern Utah in the United States.

Gentianella anglica, the early gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Gentianella, native to Great Britain. Gentianella anglica is endemic to Great Britain and its centre of distribution is in Dorset, Wiltshire, and the Isle of Wight.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Frasera coloradensis. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frasera coloradensis. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.