''Jepsonia parryi'' is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the

saxifrage family Saxifragaceae is a family of herbaceous perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot order Saxifragales. The taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the scope much reduced in the era of molecular phylogenetic analysis. The fa ...

known by the common names coast jepsonia and Parry's jepsonia. It is a small

geophytic A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

plant that flowers briefly during fall, and often only has a single leaf that may appear above the ground after or during flowering. It is native to the coast and inland hills

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 ...

of 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 ...

Description

This plant is a small

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 emerging from an enlarged underground stem, referred to as a caudex. The caudex is unbranched, shaped ovoid or rarely spherical. Typically, only one leaf is produced per plant on average, but if this leaf is injured another one may develop to replace it. The leaf is round or kidney-shaped and has a ruffled, lobed edge. Flowering is from October to February, producing a naked brown peduncle that is generally 3 to 28 cm tall, which holds a small

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 ...

of fewer than four flowers. The tiny flower has tan to purplish-veined

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s. The leaves typically emerge after flowering has completed, although some emerge before this. In very dry years, no leaves may be produced at all. This species produces the fewest inflorescences per plant and the fewest flowers per inflorescence in the genus. It also has the shortest flowering period in the genus. This species is

heterostylous Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three morphological types of flowers, termed "morphs", exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. ...

, meaning that the flowers have styles of differing lengths. The heterostylous condition of the species makes pollination difficult. The pollinators for this plant are

hover flies Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

and halictid bees.

Taxonomy

This plant was first collected between

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and San Luis Rey in 1850 by Charles C. Parry. This species was described as ''Saxifraga parryi'' by

John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...

in 1859. Torrey called this plant a "remarkable species," comparing it to a ''

Heuchera ''Heuchera'' ( or ) is a genus of largely evergreen perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. Common names include alumroot and coral bells. Description ''Heuchera'' have palmately lobed leaves on long petiole ...

''. Torrey's description is comprehensive, but contains a number of errors, such as suggesting that the leaves wither after the flowers appear, and that singular plants may possess both long and short-styled flowers. In 1896, John K. Small later transferred ''Saxifraga parry'' to the current combination ''Jepsonia parryi'', based on the distinctive habit and floral characteristics that separate them from ''

Saxifraga ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

''. Small named the genus ''Jepsonia'' after

Willis Linn Jepson Willis Linn Jepson (August 19, 1867 – November 7, 1946) was an early California botanist, conservationist, and writer. Career Born at Little Oak Ranch near Vacaville, California, Jepson became interested in botany as a boy and explore ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is distributed in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

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 ...

, where it is found in the states of

and

. In California, this species is found in the far

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

coast and the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

, distributed in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

and

counties. In Baja California, this plant is uncommonly found from the vicinity of

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

south to El Rosario, also being found on the adjacent

Coronado Islands The Coronado Islands (''Islas Coronado'' or ''Islas Coronados''; en, Islands of the Coronation(s); Kumeyaay: Mat hasil ewik kakap) are a group of islands located off the northwest coast of the Mexican state of Baja California. Battered by the w ...

. This plant usually inhabits shrubby, rocky to brushy clay slopes, often north-facing, and usually below 1100–1200 m. It is also occasionally found in rich flatlands or shaded rock crevices. The habitat's climate is usually strongly influenced by the Pacific Ocean.

Gallery

File:Jepsonia parryi 31235121.jpg, The leaves growing with ''

Selaginella ''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having ...

'' File:Jepsonia parryi 163560050.jpg, A frontal view of the flowers File:Jepsonia parryi 30285670.jpg, Two leaves emerged from the ground File:Jepsonia parryi 26756626.jpg, The flowers and inflorescence

References

External links