Leucospora multifida | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Leucospora Nutt. |
Species: | L. multifida |
Binomial name | |
Leucospora multifida (Michx.) Nutt. | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Leucospora multifida, known variously as Obi-Wan conobea, narrow-leaved paleseed, cliff conobea, cut-leaved conobea, or much-cleft conobea, is an annual herb in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, and the only species in the North American genus Leucospora. [2] [3] [4] [1]
The genus Leucospora, from the Greek for "white-seeded", was named in 1834 by English botanist Thomas Nuttall. [2] [5] Its sole species (as of July 2019 [update] ), now known as Leucospora multifida, was first described in 1803 by French botanist André Michaux as Capraria multifida. [6] The epithet multifida is Greek for "cleft many times", in reference to the shape of its leaves. [2] It has since been placed in several different genera, including Leucospora, Stemodia , Sutera , and Conobea , the latter from which several of its vernacular names originate. [6]
While one of its names, Obi-Wan conobea, a reference to the Star Wars character Obi-Wan Kenobi, is sometimes considered purely a joke snuck into the 1994 edition of the Plants of the Chicago Region, it was a name in use by regional botanists at the time, "the kind of jocular lingo that arises among field botanists working in humid, hot summer sun and bedeviled by all manner of unpleasant flying and crawling things". [2]
Obi-wan conobea is a small plant, growing to around 20 cm (8 in) tall, with glandular-hairy foliage. [7] Its deeply dissected leaves may be alternate, opposite, or whorled. [2] [7] The axillary flowers are borne on pedicels. Each pale, lavender flower is tubular, around 6 mm (1⁄4 in) with 5 lobes. It flowers in the mid-summer to fall. [2] [7]
The core of its native range is the midwestern United States, including most of Illinois and Missouri, extending west to Nebraska, south to Texas, and east to Ohio, with scattered occurrences beyond, where it may be adventive. [3] [8]
Leucospora multifida is a facultative wetland or obligate wetland plant across its range. [9] It grows on sandy, gravelly, and marly soils in ditches, swales, and receding shorelines of rivers and streams. [2]
Capraria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is sometimes placed in the families Gratiolaceae, Plantaginaceae, or Veronicaceae. The name is derived from the Latin word caprarius, meaning "pertaining to goats." This refers to goats being one of the few herbivores that will graze on the plants.
Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.
Tiarella, the foamflowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. The generic name Tiarella means "little turban", which suggests the shape of the seed capsules. Worldwide there are seven species, one each in eastern Asia and western North America, plus five species in eastern North America. As of October 2022, the taxonomy of Tiarella in eastern North America is in flux.
Symphyotrichum puniceum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America. It is commonly known as purplestem aster, red-stalk aster, red-stemmed aster, red-stem aster, and swamp aster. It also has been called early purple aster, cocash, swanweed, and meadow scabish.
Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as calico aster, starved aster, and white woodland aster, it is native to eastern and central North America. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that may reach heights up to 120 centimeters and widths up to 30 centimeters.
Symphyotrichum ascendens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names western aster, long-leaved aster, and Rocky Mountain aster. Blooming July–September, it is native to western North America and can be found at elevations of 500–3,200 m (1,600–10,500 ft) in several habitats.
Madia glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name mountain tarweed.
Symphyotrichum depauperatum, commonly known as serpentine aster or starved aster, is a rare species in the family Asteraceae adapted to serpentine barrens, an ecosystem with a high concentration of toxic metals in the soil. It has been found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and on some diabase glades in North Carolina. It grows to 50 centimeters and has white ray florets surrounding a center of yellow disk florets.
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, commonly known as aromatic aster or oblong-leaved aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is an uncommon herbaceous perennial that reaches heights of 10–80 centimeters and blooms August–November with many flower heads in various shades of purple.
Ribes amarum is a species of currant known by the common name bitter gooseberry. It is endemic to California, where it is known from mountains, foothills, and canyons. Its habitat includes Chaparral.
Trichostema micranthum is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, known by the common name smallflower bluecurls.
Pulsatilla nuttalliana, known as American pasqueflower, prairie pasqueflower, prairie crocus, or simply pasqueflower, is a flowering plant native to much of North America, from the western side of Lake Michigan, to northern Canada in the Northwest Territories, south to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Pasqueflower is the provincial flower of Manitoba and the state flower of South Dakota.
Cardamine angustata is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States, that produces white to pink or purple flowers in early spring.
Liparis liliifolia, known as the brown widelip orchid, lily-leaved twayblade, large twayblade, and mauve sleekwort, is a species of orchid native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as forests, shrublands, thickets, woodlands, and mountains. The orchid is considered globally secure, but it is considered rare or endangered in many northeastern states.
Arisaema quinatum is a species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae. It is a member of the Arisaema triphyllum complex, a group of closely-related taxa in eastern North America. The specific name quinatum means "divided into five lobes", a reference to its characteristic leaves. It is commonly known as the southern Jack-in-the-pulpit but some refer to it as Preacher John.
Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, commonly known as skyblue aster and azure aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America.
Aureolaria levigata, commonly known as entireleaf yellow false foxglove or Appalachian oak-leech, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to much of the Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas in the eastern United States. It is also found in a disjunct population in southwestern Mississippi.
Oenothera tetraptera, known as fourwing evening primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae) native to the Americas. It has widely naturalized in other areas, including southern Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Symphyotrichum patens, commonly known as late purple aster or spreading aster, is a perennial, herbaceous plant found in the eastern United States.
Penstemon albidus, commonly known as white penstemon, white-flower beardtongue, or Red-Line Beardtongue is a very widespread perennial flower of the mixed-grass and shortgrass prairies. Its natural distribution is from Manitoba and Alberta in Canada to Texas and New Mexico in the United States. The bright white flowers for which they are named are quite attractive to both bees and hummingbird moths.