Arctomecon californica
| Arctomecon californica | ||||||||||||
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Arctomecon californica |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Arctomecon californica | ||||||||||||
| Torr. & Frém. |
Arctomecon californica is a species ofthe poppy family (Papaveraceae). In spring it produces bright yellow, quickly withering flowers. The plant grows exclusively in soil containing gypsum and is only known from a few populations in Nevada and Arizona .
description
Arctomecon californica is a short-lived perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 20 to 30 cm. It forms a taproot .
The leaves stand together in a basal rosette. The blue-green leaves are 3 to 20 centimeters long, widest at the front end (up to 5 centimeters), three to seven-lobed in front. The leaf lobes end in a thorn. The leaves are densely covered with long, white hairs.
The flowering period lasts from late March to late May. The upright inflorescence stem is up to 60 centimeters high, is coarse hairy in the lower area, smooth above and has only a few small, foliage-like bracts . The umbrella-shaped zymous inflorescence contains three to 20 flowers . The flowers are hermaphroditic and radial symmetry . The two to three sepals are 8 to 15 mm long and smooth or sparsely hairy. The usually six, rarely four to eight, petals are bright yellow and with a length of 1.5 to 3.2 cm only a little longer than wide. There are numerous stamens present. The anthers are 2 to 3 mm long. The stamens end at the same level as the stigma or only slightly protrude from it. Four or five carpels have become an ovary grown.
The fruits ripen from May to June. The oval capsule fruit reaches a length of 1.2 to 2.5 centimeters and a diameter of 0.7 to 1 centimeter, it contains a good 100 seeds. The capsule opens with four to five longitudinal slits that extend no more than a quarter of the length of the fruit. The shiny black seeds have a length of 2.5 to 3 mm and a diameter of about 1.2 mm; they have a distinct aril .
distribution
Arctomecon californica occurs in mostly small populations in the US states of Nevada , Arizona and Utah . About 100 populations are known in Clark County in Nevada and eight in Arizona. The population at Lake Mead in Arizona contains at least 250,000 individuals, about a quarter of the total population. Four populations at the Grand Canyon differ morphologically and in their demands on the soil and could represent a separate taxon . There is only one population in Utah that was established by sowing.
The climate in the distribution area of Arctomecon californica is characterized by low rainfall that falls in winter. The annual average is around 100 millimeters of precipitation, but there are strong fluctuations from year to year and periods of drought that last for years. The soils on which Arctomecon californica grows are characterized by a high gypsum content of 36 to 69%.
swell
- Susan E. Meyer: Arctomecon . In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico . tape 3 . Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford ( eFloras.org - 1993+).
- Orlando Mistretta, Rashmi Pant, Timothy S. Ross, J. Mark Porter, James D. Morefield: Current Knowledge and Conservation Status of Arctomecon californica Torrey & Frémont (Papaveraceae), the Las Vegas bearpoppy . In: Nevada Natural Heritage Program (Ed.): Rare Species Reports . ( nv.gov ).
Web links
- Distribution map , Nevada Natural Heritage Program
