''Calyptridium monospermum'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Cistanthe monosperma'', is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in the miner's lettuce family (

Montiaceae Montiaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 14 genera with about 230 known species, ranging from small herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. The family Montiaceae was newly adopted in the APG ...

), known by the common name one-seeded pussypaws.Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd E. 2013, p. 75 It was formerly classified in the purslane family (

Portulacaceae The Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genus ''Portulaca''. Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus, the other genera ...

Range and habitat

It is native to western North America from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including forest and woodland.

Growth pattern, leaves, and stems

It is a perennial herb growing from a thick

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

and a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. It grows somewhat upright, the plant approaching half a meter in maximum length. There is a basal rosette of thick, generally spoon-shaped leaves up to about 6 centimeters long, with a few smaller leaves along the stems. ''C. monospermum'' usually has more than one inflorescence per basal rosette; the related '' C. umbellatum'' generally has only one.

Inflorescence and fruit

The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is an erect

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

up to 10 centimeters wide. The four petals on each flower are white to pink, and are surrounded closely by round, frilly

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. The fruit is a small, round capsule a few millimeters wide. It blooms from April to September.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentCalPhotos
Montiaceae {{Caryophyllales-stub