''Hooveria parviflora'' is a species of

perennial 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 ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

in the Agave/Yucca subfamily known by the common name smallflower soap plant. It is a

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

, native to coastal southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

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 is a member of the

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...

flora. It resembles a smaller version of '' Chlorogalum pomeridianum'', with wavy leaves and white flowers that open during the day.

Description

''Hooveria parviflora'' is a perennial wildflower, growing from a

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

wide. The bulb is covered in a dark brown, membranous coat. The leaves emerge from the top of the bulb, and are long and narrow, with wavy margins, wide. 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 tall, with ascending to erect branches. There are several flowers or buds per node. The

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

, which suspend the flowers, are long. On the flower, the

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

parts spread from above the base, and are colored a white to pink, with a darker midvein. The perianth is in length, and the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are long. Atop the stamens are yellow anthers. The style is long. The fruits are large, with 1 to 2 black, ovoid seeds per chamber. The flower opens in the morning, and is closed by the evening, only being open for a single day.

Taxonomy

This species was described as ''Chlorogalum parviflorum'' by Sereno Watson. Phylogenetic research placed this species in a new taxa, ''Hooveria'', separating it from ''Chlorogalum''.Taylor, D.W. and D.J. Keil. 2018
Hooveria, a new genus liberated from Chlorogalum (Agavaceae subf. Chlorogaloideae).
Phytoneuron 2018-67: 1–6. Published 1 October 2018
ISSN 2153-733X
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Distribution and habitat

This species is native to

and

. In California, it is primarily found near the coast of far

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, and is particularly common around San Diego. In Baja California, the plant is uncommon, and is only found in the extreme northwest of the state.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Chlorogalum parviflorum'' (small flowered soaproot)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Chlorogalum parviflorum''USDA Plants Profile for ''Chlorogalum parviflorum'' (small flowered soaproot)Flora of North AmericaUC Photos gallery — ''Chlorogalum parviflorum''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q95986985, from2=Q5103073 parviflora Flora of California Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Taxa named by Sereno Watson