Hydrophyllum occidentale
Hydrophyllum occidentale | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Genus: | Hydrophyllum |
Species: | H. occidentale
|
Binomial name | |
Hydrophyllum occidentale |
Hydrophyllum occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family known by the common name western waterleaf.
Distribution
[edit]It is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it grows in a variety of habitats from wet mountain meadows to dry chaparral slopes.
Description
[edit]This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a patch of leaves, most of which are made up of many pairs of oval-shaped, bluntly lobed green leaflets. These compound leaves may be up to 40 centimeters long. The plant produces erect stems branching into green to reddish-purple rough-haired, leafless peduncles bearing inflorescences.
The inflorescence is a large ball of densely packed flowers. Each flower is up to a centimeter wide and bright white to lavender. It is coated in downy white hairs and has a long protruding style and usually five stamens with large purple or red anthers. The fruit is a spherical capsule containing two seeds. The inflorescence of Hydrophyllum occidentale occurs above the leaf canopy.
External links
[edit]