''Erocallis triphylla'' is a 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 ...

known by the common name threeleaf lewisia. It is the sole species in genus ''Erocallis''. It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 ...

. It grows in mountain and forest habitat, often in wet, rocky

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

areas where it may bloom through the snowmelt. This is a perennial herb growing from a fibrous

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

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

unit. Instead of a basal rosette like many other ''

Lewisia ''Lewisia'' is a plant genus, named for the American explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) who encountered the species in 1806. The native habitat of ''Lewisia'' species is north facing cliffs in western North America. Local Native Americans at ...

'' species it produces 2 to 5 short, slender, fleshy leaves from the lower part of the stem, which may be at or under the soil surface. The small stem bears an

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 1 to 25 flowers. The flower has 5 to 9 small white or pinkish petals often marked with darker veining or stripes.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
Montiaceae Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of California Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1875 Flora without expected TNC conservation status Monotypic Caryophyllales genera {{Caryophyllales-stub