Lithophragma

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Lithophragma
Lithophragma sp.jpg
Lithophragma sp.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Saxifragaceae
Genus: Lithophragma
(Nutt.) Torr. & Gray
Species

~12, see text

Lithophragma is a genus of flowering plants in the saxifrage family containing about nine species native to western North America. These plants are known generally as woodland stars. The petals of the flowers are usually bright white with deep, long lobes or teeth. Each petal may look like three to five petals, when at closer inspection the lobes fuse into a single petal at its base. Most species reproduce via bulblets instead of seeds. L. maximum is a federally listed endangered species. Lithophragma specifically coevolved with moths of the genus Greya , who pollinate and only lay eggs on Lithophragma plants. [1]

Contents

Species

There are 9 species. The Flora of North America North of Mexico counts 10 species, elevating L. parviflorum var. trifoliatum to species status, [2] but the Jepson Manual considers it to be a variety of L. parviflorum restricted to California. [3]

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<i>Primula <span style="font-style:normal;">sect.</span> Dodecatheon</i> Section of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Primula sect. Dodecatheon is a section of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. Primula species in this section were formerly placed in a separate genus, Dodecatheon. The species have basal clumps of leaves and nodding flowers that are produced at the top of tall stems rising from where the leaves join the crown. The genus is largely confined to North America and part of northeastern Siberia. Common names include shooting star, American cowslip, mosquito bills, mad violets, and sailor caps. A few species are grown in gardens for their showy and unique flower display.

<i>Orobanche uniflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Orobanche uniflora, commonly known as one-flowered broomrape, one-flowered cancer root, ghost pipe or broomrape, is an annual parasitic herbaceous plant. It is native to much of North America, where it is a parasitic plant, tapping nutrients from many other species of plants, including those in the families Asteraceae and Saxifragaceae and in the genus Sedum. The name "orobanche" can be translated to "vetch-strangler" and "uniflora" can be translated to "single-flower".

<i>Jepsonia parryi</i> Species of flowering plant

Jepsonia parryi is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common names coast jepsonia and Parry's jepsonia. It is a small geophytic plant that flowers briefly during fall, and often only has a single leaf that may appear above the ground after or during flowering. It is native to the coast and inland hills chaparral of southern California and Baja California.

<i>Diplacus douglasii</i> Species of flowering plant

Diplacus douglasii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names brownies and purple mouse ears. It is native to the mountains and foothills of California and Oregon, where it is often found on serpentine soils. D. douglasii was first described in a published flora by George Bentham, an English botanist who was considered "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century,." It was later described by Asa Gray, the father of North American botany.

<i>Lithophragma affine</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma affine is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name San Francisco woodland star. It is native to the coast of western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in open habitat on mountain slopes, hills, and canyonsides. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a tall naked flowering stem. The leaves are located on the lower part of the stem, each divided into sharp-pointed lobes. The stem bears up to 15 widely spaced flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are bright white, up to 1.3 centimeters long, and divided into three toothlike lobes at the tips.

Lithophragma bolanderi is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name Bolander's woodland star. It is endemic to California, where it is known from several mountain ranges, including the North Coast Ranges, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and the San Gabriel Mountains. It grows in many types of open habitat. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a tall naked flowering stem. The leaves are located on the lower part of the stem, each divided into rounded lobes. The stem bears up to 25 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are white, under one centimeter long, and toothed or smooth along the edges.

Lithophragma campanulatum is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name Siskiyou Mountain woodland star. It is native to southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in the forests and woods of the mountains. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a tall naked flowering stem. The leaves are mostly located on the lower part of the stem, each divided into rounded lobes, sometimes narrowed into teeth. The stem bears 2 to 11 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are white, under one centimeter long, and divided into irregular toothlike lobes.

<i>Lithophragma cymbalaria</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma cymbalaria is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name mission woodland star.

<i>Lithophragma glabrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma glabrum is a slender perennial western North American mountain plant in the Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae), known by the common names bulbous woodland star, bulbiferous prairie-star, smooth woodland star, and smooth rockstar.

<i>Lithophragma heterophyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma heterophyllum, commonly known as hillside woodland star, is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family found in the western United States. It is native to the coastal mountain ranges of California, where it can generally be found in shady habitat. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a slender naked flowering stem. The leaves are located on the lower part of the stem, each divided into rounded lobes. The stem bears 3 to 12 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are white, up to 1.2 centimeters long, and usually divided into about three pointed lobes.

<i>Lithophragma maximum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma maximum, known by the common name San Clemente Island woodland star, is a rare species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the eight Channel Islands of California. It is known from only about four kilometers of rocky coastal cliffs on the edge of the island. The plant was thought to be extinct until a few specimens were rediscovered in 1979. Only 200 individuals were tallied in a 1996 survey. In 1997 the plant was listed as an endangered species on the federal level.

<i>Lithophragma parviflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma parviflorum is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name smallflower woodland star. It is native to much of western North America from British Columbia to California to South Dakota and Nebraska, where it grows in several types of open habitat. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a naked flowering stem. The leaves are mainly located low on the stem, each cut into three lobes or divided into three lobed leaflets. The stem bears up to 14 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are bright white, up to 1.6 centimeters long, and usually divided into three toothlike lobes.

<i>Lithophragma tenellum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma tenellum is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name slender woodland star.

<i>Lyonothamnus</i> Genus of trees

Lyonothamnus is a monotypic genus of trees in the rose family containing the single living species Lyonothamnus floribundus, which is known by the common name Catalina ironwood, and the subspecies L. f. ssp. aspleniifolius and L. f. ssp. floribundus.

<i>Sibara filifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Sibara filifolia, the Santa Cruz Island winged rockcress or Santa Cruz Island rockcress, is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it is now known from a few occurrences on San Clemente Island and one population on Catalina Island.

<i>Silene lemmonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene lemmonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Lemmon's catchfly.

<i>Silene noctiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene noctiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene and clammy cockle. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. In North America, it is a common weed of grain crops in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States. It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.

<i>Deinandra fasciculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Deinandra fasciculata, known by the common names clustered tarweed and fascicled spikeweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to western North America.

<i>Epilobium parviflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae

Epilobium parviflorum, commonly known as the hoary willowherb or smallflower hairy willowherb, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Onagraceae.

Lithophragma trifoliatum is a variety of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known from the western slope of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada in California. It is sometimes considered its own species based on the pink, fragrant flowers, the shape of the hypanthium, and other characters. Others consider it to be a sterile variety of L. parviflorum that likely now persists by vegetative reproduction.

References

  1. "Diverse scents of woodland star wildflowers driven by coevolution with pollinators". phys.org. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. "Flora of North America". eFloras.org. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  3. "Jepson Manual". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-03.