''Microsteris'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the
phlox family containing the single species ''Microsteris gracilis'', known by the common name slender phlox.
The segregation of this species into a genus of its own is controversial, and many botanists continue to include the plant in genus ''
Phlox
''Phlox'' (; Greek φλόξ "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", Greek φλόγες ''phlóges'') is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in di ...
''. Genetic analysis is continuing.
Distribution
''Microsteris gracilis'' is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to the American Midwest and West Coast, through
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 ...
, as well as parts of South America. It is
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to all the diverse plant communities in
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 ...
.
Jepson eFlora: Distribution map for ''Microsteris gracilis'' in California
/ref>
Description
''Microsteris gracilis'' is an annual herb which is variable in shape, taking a decumbent, branching, sometimes almost tuftlike form or growing erect and very slender. Its maximum height approaches 20 centimeters, but it may be much smaller.
The lance-shaped leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long and oppositely arranged except for the upper ones, which are alternate. The herbage is glandular and hairy in texture. 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 ...
at the top of the stem bears one or more small flowers.
The flower has a tubular throat around a centimeter long encased in a tubular calyx of 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. The flat corolla has five flat-tipped or notched lobes just 1 or 2 millimeters long. The flower is white to bright pink with a yellowish throat.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Microsteris gracilis''
USDA Plants Profile for ''Microsteris gracilis'' (slender phlox)
''Microsteris gracilis'' — U.C. Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396409
Monotypic Ericales genera
Polemoniaceae
Flora of Mexico
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora of California
Flora of Nebraska
Flora of South Dakota
Flora of South America
Flora of the California desert regions
Flora of the Cascade Range
Flora of the Great Basin
Flora of the Klamath Mountains
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
Polemoniaceae genera
Flora without expected TNC conservation status