''Downingia bicornuta'' is a species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
bellflower family known by the common name doublehorn calicoflower and double-horned downingia.
This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from
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 ...
to
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, where it is a resident of lakesides and
vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...
ecosystems.
Description
This
annual
Annual may refer to:
* Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
** Literary annual
* Annual plant
* Annual report
* Annual giving
* Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
* Annuals (b ...
grows on a branching erect stem with small leaves at intervals. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each between one and two centimeters wide. The flower has two long, narrow, pointed upper lobes which may be blue or purple. The three lower lobes are fused into one three-lobed surface, which is blue or purple with two bright yellow blotches rimmed with white in the center. The mouth of the flower tube is surrounded by knobby projections of the sepals. The fruit is a
dehiscent
Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...
capsule three to seven centimeters long.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
bicornuta
{{Campanulaceae-stub