''Lewisia congdonii'', known by the common name Congdon's lewisia, is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

Montiaceae Montiaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 14 genera with about 230 known species, ranging from small herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. The family Montiaceae was newly adopted in the APG ...

Description

''Lewisia congdonii'' is a perennial herb growing from a short, thick

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

and

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 ...

unit. It produces a basal rosette of several thick, fleshy leaves with lance-shaped blades tapering down to a long petiole. 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 ...

arises on one or more stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall, each stem bearing an array of up to 100 flowers each. Near the flowers are small, pointed

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s tipped with resin glands. The flower has 6 or 7 petals, each up to about a centimeter in length and lance-shaped with a toothed tip. The petals are pale pink with sharp dark pink veining. The throat is sometimes tinged with greenish yellow.

Distribution

''Lewisia congdonii'' 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 ...

to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

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 ...

, where it is known from only ten occurrences in the drainage canyons of the

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

and

Merced River The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...

s.California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
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References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lewisia congdonii''''Lewisia congdonii'' - Photo gallery
congdonii Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Yosemite National Park Critically endangered flora of California {{Caryophyllales-stub