''Greeneocharis'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
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 ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...
. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western U.S.A. down to northwestern Mexico and to western Argentina.
It is part of subtribe of ''Amsinckiinae''.
It was once thought to be a either a subgenus or synonym of ''
Cryptantha
''Cryptantha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. They are known commonly as cat's eyes and popcorn flowers (the latter name is also used to refer to the closely related genus ''Plagiobothrys'',Hasenstab-Lehman, ...
'' ,
before being segregated out due to molecular phylogenetic analysis.
Description
It is an
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 ...
herb, with cushion-like, roots,
[ which can have red-purple tinge.][ It has branches ascending to erect on a slender stem, generally strigose (having straight hairs all pointing in more or less the same direction). The leaves are ]sessile
Sessility, or sessile, may refer to:
* Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about
* Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant
* Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
, arranged alternate and congested at the branch tips. They are linear, oblanceolate, or narrowly oblong (in shape) and hairy. The inflorescence is spike-like cymes
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 on ...
. They have flower bracts. The flower consists of calyx lobes which are fused at base,[ and the tube is circumscissile in fruit (meaning it splits or opens along a circumference).][ The white, corolla limb is in diameter with appendages present. After it has flowered it produces a fruit (or seed capsule), which has a pedicel 0-0.5 mm in fruit. The fruit axis is similar to the ]nutlet
A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, a wide variety of dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the shell ...
length. It can have between 2-4 nutlets, which are generally similar (or dissimilar), smooth to roughened and without ridges. The margin is rounded and has an attachment scar abutted near apex, forked and gapped at the base. The style is extended to or just below nutlet tips.
Taxonomy
The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Greeneocharis'' is derived from California botanist Edward Lee Greene (1843–1915) and ''charis'' which means "beauty, delight".subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
. Although they were sometimes still called synonyms of ''Cryptantha''.
In 2012, the phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
relationship of members of the genus ''Cryptantha'' was carried out, based on dna sequencing
DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...
analyses, it was then
proposed that the resurrection of the following genera; ''Eremocarya
''Eremocarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends through western United States to northwestern Mexico. It is part of subtribe of ''Amsinckiinae''.
It was once thoug ...
'', ''Greeneocharis'', ''Johnstonella
''Johnstonella'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae.
Its native range is south western and southern USA to Mexico, Peru to southern South America. It is found in the American states of Arizona, California, Nevada ...
'', and also ''Oreocarya
''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...
''.
Species
2 accepted species;[
* '']Greeneocharis circumscissa
''Greeneocharis circumscissa'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, known by the common name cushion cryptantha. It is native to western North America from Washington to Baja California to Colorado and it is also found in Argenti ...
''
** ''Greeneocharis circumscissa'' var. ''circumscissa''
** ''Greeneocharis circumscissa'' var. ''hispida''
** ''Greeneocharis circumscissa'' var. ''rosulata''
* '' Greeneocharis similis''
Distribution
The genus is found in the United States (within the states of Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, 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 ...
, Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, 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 ...
, Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
and Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
) and also in north western Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and southern and northwestern Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.[
]
References
Other sources
* Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora.
* Johnston, I. M. 1927. Studies in the Boraginaceae VI. A revision of the South American Boraginoideae. Contr. Gray Herb. 78:31.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21293632
Boraginoideae
Boraginaceae genera
Plants described in 1899
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Flora of Northeast Argentina
Flora of South Argentina