''Neviusia cliftonii'' is a rare species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

which is known by the common name Shasta snow-wreath. It 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 ...

Shasta County, California Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a County (United States), county in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 c ...

, where it is known from about 25 occurrences in the mountains around

Lake Shasta Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United State ...

.California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
/ref> The shrub was not known to science until 1992, when it was discovered east of

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

and described as a new species in ''

Neviusia ''Neviusia'', the snow-wreaths, is a genus of ornamental plants, which are native to the United States, containing two extant species and one extinct species known from fossil leaves. This genus is a rare example of a disjunct range occurring ...

'', previously a monotypic genus.

Description

''Neviusia cliftonii'' is an erect

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub reaching in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves are oval or heart-shaped and lined with toothed lobes. The leaf blades reach long and are borne on short petioles. 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 ...

is an umbel-like cluster of 3 to 5 flowers. The flower is a ball of about 50 long, whiskery white

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s each about long. There are rarely a single white petal basal to the stamens, although the petals are often absent. The fruit type is a soft-bodied

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

a few millimeters long natomically the fruit is an achenetum When not in flower, the plant resembles common shrubs such as

oceanspray ''Holodiscus discolor'', commonly known as ocean spray or oceanspray, creambush, or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America. Description ''Holodiscus discolor'' is a fast-growing deciduous shrub usually from to in height, and up to ta ...

and

ninebark ''Physocarpus'', commonly called ninebark, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to North America (most species) and northeastern Asia (one species). Description ''Physocarpus'' are deciduous shrubs with peeling bark

, one reason why it may have gone unrecognized for so long.Nelson, J. K
Plant of the Week: Shasta Snow-wreath
USFS.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Neviusia cliftonii''Neviusia cliftonii - Photo gallery
cliftonii Endemic flora of California Natural history of Shasta County, California Plants described in 1992 {{amygdaloideae-stub