''Lewisia disepala'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Montiaceae known by the common name Yosemite lewisia.
Description
''Lewisia disepala'' is a petite perennial herb growing from a thick branching
taproot and short
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 many small leaves no more than 1.5 centimeters long. The leaves are thick, fleshy, hairless, deep shiny green, and club-shaped, knobby, or finger-like, clumped tightly together. The
inflorescence has a stem so short that the flowers sit directly on the basal rosette of leaves, or among them. Each flower has 5 to 8 pale to bright pink oval petals and 15 protruding stamens.
Distribution
''Lewisia disepala'' is
endemic 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 ...
of
California, where it is known from several sites high in the mountains. It grows in rocky mountain habitat such as
talus and open beds of bare gravel.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lewisia disepala''''Lewisia disepala'' - Photo gallery
disepala
Endemic flora of California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
{{Caryophyllales-stub