Tetracoccus ilicifolius | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Picrodendraceae |
Genus: | Tetracoccus |
Species: | T. ilicifolius |
Binomial name | |
Tetracoccus ilicifolius | |
Tetracoccus ilicifolius is a rare species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae known by the common names hollybush [3] and holly-leaved tetracoccus.
It was described by botanists Frederick Vernon Coville and Marshall French Gilman in 1936. [4] They had participated with other eminent biologists in the 1891 Death Valley Expedition funded by Congress.
The plant is endemic to California, found in only several Mojave Desert mountain ranges within Death Valley National Park, in eastern Inyo County.
It grows on dry, rocky slopes at 600–1,700 metres (2,000–5,600 ft) in elevation, in the Panamint Range, Grapevine Mountains, and Cottonwood Mountains surrounding Death Valley.
There are fewer than ten occurrences, and it is a NatureServe listed Critically endangered species. [5] [6]
Tetracoccus ilicifolius is a branching shrub, hairless in texture except for the new twigs, which have woolly brownish hairs. The shiny, leathery leaves are oppositely arranged or borne in whorls along the branches. Each leaf is oval with a toothed margin and measures 1.5 to 3 centimeters long.
The plant is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing different types of flowers. The staminate flowers occur in dense clusters, each flower with 7 to 9 lance-shaped sepals and 7 to 9 stamens. The pistillate flower occurs singly. The bloom period is May and June.
It produces a rounded, woolly brown fruit with usually four chambers. The fruit is around a centimeter long when mature and contains one or two seeds per chamber.
Tetracoccus is a plant genus under the family Picrodendraceae. Shrubby-spurge is a common name for plants in this genus. They are dioecious, often hairy shrubs.
Prunus ilicifolia is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert. Despite its name, it is not a true cherry species. It is traditionally included in P. subg. Laurocerasus, but molecular research indicates it is nested with species of P. subg. Padus.
Calochortus striatus, known by the common name alkali mariposa lily, is a species of mariposa lily native to California and into Nevada.
Arctomecon merriamii is a species of poppy known by several common names, including desert bearpoppy, white bearpoppy, and great bearclaw poppy. It is native to the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada.
Arctostaphylos obispoensis is a species of manzanita, known by the common names bishop manzanita and serpentine manzanita, endemic to California.
Astragalus funereus is an uncommon species of milkvetch known by the common names Funeral Mountain milkvetch and black milkvetch.
Astragalus jaegerianus is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Lane Mountain milkvetch. The plant was named for the biologist Edmund Jaeger, who first documented it in 1939.
Atriplex spinifera is a species of saltbush, known by the common names spiny saltbush and spinescale saltbush.
Brickellia incana is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name woolly brickellbush. It is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States, in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Ceanothus roderickii is a rare species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Pine Hill ceanothus. It is endemic to western El Dorado County, California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills, such as the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve. It is named after 20th century California flora explorer, botanist, and arboretum director Wayne Roderick.
Enceliopsis covillei, known by the common name Panamint daisy, is a rare North American desert species of flowering plant in the daisy family.
Monardella linoides is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name flaxleaf monardella.
Quercus turbinella is a North American species of oak known by the common names shrub oak, turbinella oak, shrub live oak, and gray oak. It is native to Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada in the western United States. It also occurs in northern Mexico.
Sisyrinchium funereum is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae known by the common names Funeral Mountain blue-eyed grass and Death Valley blue-eyed-grass. It is endemic to the Mojave Desert of the United States, where it is known only from the Funeral Mountains and Death Valley area in eastern California, and the Ash Meadows area just over the border in Nevada. It grows in wet, highly alkaline habitat, such as seeps and mineral springs.
Stylocline citroleum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name oil neststraw.
Tetracoccus hallii is a species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae, known by the common names Hall's shrubby-spurge and Hall's tetracoccus.
Bahiopsis reticulata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names netvein goldeneye and Death Valley goldeneye. It is native to the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, where it grows in several types of dry desert habitat. Many of the populations are inside Death Valley National Park.
Xylorhiza cognata is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Mecca-aster and Mecca woodyaster.
Prunus eremophila, also known by its common name Mojave Desert plum, is a rare species of plum native to California.
Ericameria paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family Asteraceae, native to the southwestern United States. It is an evergreen yellow-flowered desert shrub.