Hemitomes | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Ericaceae |
Subfamily: | Monotropoideae |
Tribe: | Monotropeae |
Genus: | Hemitomes A.Gray |
Species: | H. congestum |
Binomial name | |
Hemitomes congestum | |
Synonyms | |
Newberrya congesta |
Hemitomes is a monotypic genus of plants containing the single species Hemitomes congestum, which is known as gnome plant and cone plant. [1] This rare and unusual plant is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in dense, dark forests such as the redwood and Douglas fir forests of the region. This is small, fleshy, stemless perennial plant forming lumps in the leaf litter. It is white, yellowish, or reddish-pink in color,like Monotropa and other close relatives, little is known about the life cycle of the plant due to its rarity, but it probably obtains its nutrients by parasitizing fungi,that are part of the Russulaceae ,in a similar manner to the rest of its tribe of the Monotropeae, so it lacks the green of chlorophyll. [2] It grows from a rhizome with fragile roots and its form is covered in sparse scales which are the rudimentary leaves. An inflorescence emerges on a thick stalk from the soil bearing solitary to densely bunched flowers. The flowers have ragged yellowish or pinkish petals and contain hairs and large rounded yellow stigmas. The fruit is a fleshy white berry.
The native range of this species is British Columbia to California. It is a holomycotrophic perennial and grows primarily in the temperate biome.
Hemitomes congestum is a chlorophyll-less, myco-heterotrophic herb. Their roots are fibrous, the shoot and inflorescence axis that sprouts from them is upright and creamy white to reddish. The leaves are simple, bracteoles are absent.The roots are thin and white.
The inflorescence is one to multiple flowers, branching is possible. The flowers are four, rarely up to sixfold, sepals and bracteoles are present. The crown is tubular to bell-shaped, the petals are fused together. The stamens are about two-thirds as long as the crown, the anthers do not turn and are slotted lengthwise. The stylus is permanent, the stigma widened.
The ovary is eightfold and has parietal placentation. The fruit is berry-like, the seeds are elliptical and thick-skinned.
Gaultheria shallon is an evergreen shrub in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to western North America. In English, it is known as salal, shallon, or gaultheria.
Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.
Monotropa hypopitys, the so-called Dutchman's pipe, false beech-drops, pinesap, or yellow bird's-nest, is a herbaceous perennial plant, formerly classified in the families Monotropaceae or Pyrolaceae, but now included within the subfamily Monotropoideae of the family Ericaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and is scarce or rare in many areas. However, it is still the most widespread member of the subfamily. While currently included in the genus Monotropa, recent genetic evidence strongly suggests that Monotropa hypopitys should be placed in its own genus, Hypopitys, with the single species Hypopitys monotropa Crantz, but possibly containing several other species.
Allotropa virgata is in the family Ericaceae and is the only species of the genus Allotropa. It is a perennial plant that gets its common names from the distinct white and red or maroon stripes along its erect peduncle. A. virgata are nongreen as they lack chlorophyll, instead obtaining nutrition from neighboring green plants through a fungal intermediate.
Dudleya pulverulenta is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest Dudleya, with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatly contrast with its habitat. It is also regarded as one of the most distinctive members of the Dudleya, with one of the most specialized inflorescences in the genus, adapted to hummingbird pollination through its red pendent flowers, the longest corolla, and the highest nectar output. Dudleya pulverulenta has the largest range of all Dudleya, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), being found from southern Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja California. It is closely related to Dudleya arizonica, a smaller desert species that tends to lack the specialized floral traits, and Dudleya anthonyi, which differs in a few morphological traits and is restricted to the San Quintín Volcanic Field.
Oenothera suffrutescens is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known as scarlet beeblossom and scarlet gaura.
Grayia is a genus of plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. Common names are siltbush and hopsage. The four shrubby species occur in arid and semiarid regions of western North America:
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
Blitum californicum is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names California goosefoot and (ambiguously) "Indian lettuce".
Pityopus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae containing the single species Pityopus californicus, which is known by the common name pinefoot.
Pleuricospora is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae containing the single species Pleuricospora fimbriolata, which is known by the common name fringed pinesap. It is native to the forests of the west coast of North America from British Columbia to the San Francisco Bay Area. This perennial herb is a mycoheterotroph, parasitizing fungi for nutrients. It is yellowish, cream or white in color, lacking chlorophyll, with the tips of the bracts darkening with age. It produces a fleshy stemless peduncle above the leaf litter of the forest floor, reaching no more than 10 to 12 centimeters tall. Leaves are reduced to scales or absent, as the plant does not perform photosynthesis. The aboveground portion of the plant is essentially just inflorescence, with cylindrical whitish flowers blooming for a short time. The flower has four or five petals and about eight stamens in its throat. It produces a fleshy berry under a centimeter wide containing many tiny, sticky seeds. The seeds are dispersed when small mammals eat the fruits.
Ribes roezlii is a North American species of gooseberry known by the common name Sierra gooseberry.
Ribes velutinum is a species of currant known by the common name desert gooseberry.
Rubus lasiococcus is a species of wild blackberry known by the common names roughfruit berry and dwarf bramble. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountain forests. In the southern half of its range the plant is commonly found in a plant community in the understory of mountain hemlock and Shasta red fir.
Spergularia macrotheca is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sticky sandspurry. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it grows in many types of moist coastal and inland habitat, often in alkaline and saline substrates. It may be found in marshes, alkali flats, beaches, meadows, seeps, and vernal pools. It is a perennial herb producing a narrow stem up to 40 centimeters long with a woody, thickened base and taproot. They may grow erect or prostrate across the ground. It is covered in sticky glandular hairs, especially in the inflorescence. The stems are lined with fleshy linear leaves, sometimes tipped with spines. The leaves are accompanied by triangular stipules up to a centimeter long each. Flowers occur in clusters at the end of the stem as well as in leaf axils. The small flowers have five pointed sepals and five oval white to lavender-pink petals. The fruit is a capsule containing tiny reddish brown, winged seeds.
Suaeda taxifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common name woolly seablite.
Berberis canadensis, commonly known as the American barberry or Allegheny barberry, is a member of the family Berberidaceae native to the eastern United States.
Paronychia franciscana is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names San Francisco nailwort, California Whitlow-wort, Franciscan paronychia, and Chilean nailwort. It is native to Chile, but it was first described from specimens collected in San Francisco, California, in the United States, where it is an introduced species.
Stutzia is a plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It was described in 2010, replacing the illegitimate name Endolepis. It comprises two species, that have also been included in the genus Atriplex.
Darwinia hortiorum is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a compact, densely branched shrub with small leaves and inflorescences composed of up to twenty flowers with glossy, pale yellow to reddish petals and fleshy dark green sepals surrounded by papery brown bracteoles.