''Horkelia wilderae'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus' ...

known by the common name Barton Flats horkelia. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

, where it is known from only about ten occurrences in the vicinity of Barton Flats. It grows in the montane chaparral and woodlands

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

where

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

meets pine forest, and it is threatened by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

.California Native Plant Society Rare Plants Profile
/ref>

Description

''Horkelia wilderae'' is a perennial herb producing an inconspicuous rosette of prostrate leaves around a small

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 ...

. Each leaf is up to 10 centimeters long and is made up of several pairs of wedge-shaped leaflets divided at the tips into several lobes. 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 open array of up to 15 flowers atop an erect stalk, each flower made up of five pointed, green, often recurved

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 and five wedge-shaped to oblong white petals.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Horkelia wilderae''''Horkelia wilderae'' — U.C. Photo gallery
wilderae Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of San Bernardino County, California Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ Critically endangered flora of California {{rosoideae-stub