''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of subtribe of ''Amsinckiinae''. It was once thought to be a either a subgenus or synonym of ''

Cryptantha ''Cryptantha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. They are known commonly as cat's eyes and popcorn flowers (the latter name is also used to refer to the closely related genus ''Plagiobothrys'',Hasenstab-Lehman, ...

'' , as they both had plenty of tiny flowers, hairy leaves, and persisting dried flower stems. Botanist

William Alfred Weber William Alfred Weber (November 16, 1918 – March 18, 2020) was an American botanist and lichenologist. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado at Boulder and former curator of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, ...

later noted that the 2 genera were different in form as ''Oreocarya'' was a "biennial or perennial from rosettes of basal leaves; flowers more than 5 mm in diameter, often distinctly long-tubular with prominent yellow eye", while ''Cryptantha'' was an "annual without rosettes of basal leaves; flowers minute, less than 5 mm diameter, short-tubed with inconspicuous eye".

Description

They are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

plants Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

. Most species are perennials but a few (such as ''O. setosissima'' and ''O. virgata'') are biennial. Species of ''Oreocarya'' have a

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 ...

, with branching and a simple or branching

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 ...

, which has a rosette of leaves at the top. From this the flowering stem rises. The herbaceous stem is various among the species, but generally the stems are foliate or bracteate, with branches bearing several helicoid

cymes 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 on ...

(as flowers). Most species have linear, spatulate (spoon shaped) or oblanceolate shaped leaves, with entire margins and a (leaf) blade that is gradually narrowed to a long, slender petiole. The flower (or inflorescence) is an open, rounded, leafy bracteate

thyrsus A thyrsus /ˈθɜːrsəs/ or thyrsos /ˈθɜːrˌsɒs/ (Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel (''Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, artich ...

or a

helicoid The helicoid, also known as helical surface, after the plane and the catenoid, is the third minimal surface to be known. Description It was described by Euler in 1774 and by Jean Baptiste Meusnier in 1776. Its name derives from its similarit ...

shaped cyme.

Taxonomy

The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Oreocarya'' is derived from "Oreos" which is Greek for "mountain" and "caryum" is Greek for "nut". It was first published by

Edward Lee Greene Edward Lee Greene (August 20, 1843–November 10, 1915) was an American botanist known for his numerous publications including the two-part ''Landmarks of Botanical History'' and the describing of over 4,400 species of plants in the American W ...

in Pittonia vol.1 on page 57 in 1887. In 1887, several species found in the genus ''

Eritrichium ''Eritrichium'' (alpine forget-me-not) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. It contains 78 species. Notable members include '' Eritrichium howardii'' and ''Eritrichium nanum''. Its native range stretches from temperate Euras ...

'' were segregated out by Greene. Genus ''Allocarya'' was formed, then the genera ''Piptocalyx'', ''Eremocarya'' and ''Oreocarya'' were formed. ''Oreocarya'' had nine former species from the genus ''Eritrichium''. In 1896, Greene described 8 more species (of ''Oreocarya'') and in 1899 he added 2 more species and then in 1901, he added another 2 species of ''Oreocarya'' to the genus. Other botanical authors (including

Alice Eastwood __NOTOC__ Alice Eastwood (January 19, 1859 – October 30, 1953) was a Canadian American botanist. She is credited with building the botanical collection at the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco. She published over 310 scienti ...

and

Per Axel Rydberg Per Axel Rydberg (July 6, 1860 – July 25, 1931) was a Swedish-born, American botanist who was the first curator of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. Biography Per Axel Rydberg was born in Odh, Västergötland, Sweden and emigrated to t ...

, added more species to the genus up until 1916. In 1916, Macbride carried out a revision of the genus (which had 45 species by then). Then in 1924, Ivan M. Johnston wrote that the genus of ''Oreocarya'' could be combined with ''Cryptantha''. Payson in 1927 (A Monograph of the section ''Oreocarya'' of ''Cryptantha'', Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 14:211-358) agreed with Johnston and all the species of ''Oreocarya'' became ''Cryptantha'' species. More species were found up until 1969 and also placed in the ''Cryptantha'' genus. In 2012, the

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationship of members of the genus ''Cryptantha'' was carried out, based on

dna sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

analyses, it was then proposed that the resurrection of the following genera ''

Eremocarya ''Eremocarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends through western United States to northwestern Mexico. It is part of subtribe of ''Amsinckiinae''. It was once thoug ...

'', ''

Greeneocharis ''Greeneocharis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western U.S.A. down to northwestern Mexico and to western Argentina. It is part of subtribe of ''Amsinckiin ...

'', ''

Johnstonella ''Johnstonella'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Its native range is south western and southern USA to Mexico, Peru to southern South America. It is found in the American states of Arizona, California, Nevada ...

'', and also ''Oreocarya''. Weber and Wittman (2012) then placed all perennial species of ''Cryptantha'' back in the genus ''Oreocarya''. Botanist John Kartesz from Missouri Botanical Garden Press agreed with the re-classification, as part of the Biota of North America Program (BONAP) in 2015.

Distribution

It is found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(within the provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

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, ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

) in the United States (within the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) and also in northern

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 ...

. Most species are found in the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...

and the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

of the U.S.

Ecology

Most species grow in xerophytic habitats at middle elevations. Only a few species can tolerate growing in the shade of overhanging trees or shrubs. Some species grow in sandy deserts (''O. jamesii''), on alpine slopes (such as ''O. weberi'', ''O. crymophile'' and ''O. thompsonii''), ''O. virginensis'', ''O. rugulosa'' and ''O. semiglabra'' can tolerate clay soils, but no species grows in moist and undrained soils.

Known species

There are 63 accepted species listed by Kew, and the Biota of North America Program. *'' Oreocarya abortiva'' *''

Oreocarya aperta ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya atwoodii'' *'' Oreocarya bakeri'' *'' Oreocarya barnebyi'' *'' Oreocarya breviflora'' *'' Oreocarya caespitosa'' *'' Oreocarya cana'' *'' Oreocarya capitata'' *'' Oreocarya compacta'' *''

Oreocarya confertiflora ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus (biology), genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United Stat ...

'' *'' Oreocarya crassipes'' *'' Oreocarya creutzfeldtii'' *'' Oreocarya crymophila'' *''

Oreocarya elata ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya flava'' *''

Oreocarya flavoculata ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus (biology), genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United Stat ...

'' *'' Oreocarya fulvocanescens'' *'' Oreocarya glomerata'' *'' Oreocarya grahamii'' *''

Oreocarya hoffmannii ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya humilis ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya hypsophila'' *'' Oreocarya insolita'' *''

Oreocarya interrupta ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya johnstonii ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya jonesiana'' *'' Oreocarya leucophaea'' *'' Oreocarya longiflora'' *'' Oreocarya mensana'' *'' Oreocarya nubigena'' *'' Oreocarya oblata'' *'' Oreocarya ochroleuca'' *'' Oreocarya osterhoutii'' *'' Oreocarya palmeri'' *''

Oreocarya paradoxa ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya paysonii'' *''

Oreocarya propria ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of ...

'' *''

Oreocarya revealii ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya rollinsii'' *''

Oreocarya roosiorum ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya rugulosa ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya salmonensis'' *'' Oreocarya schoolcraftii'' *''

Oreocarya semiglabra ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya sericea'' *'' Oreocarya setosissima'' *''

Oreocarya shackletteana ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya sobolifera'' *'' Oreocarya spiculifera'' *''

Oreocarya stricta ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya subcapitata ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya subretusa'' *''

Oreocarya suffruticosa ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus (biology), genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United Stat ...

'' *'' Oreocarya tenuis'' *'' Oreocarya thompsonii'' *'' Oreocarya thyrsiflora'' *'' Oreocarya tumulosa'' *''

Oreocarya virgata ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus (biology), genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United Stat ...

'' *''

Oreocarya virginensis ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya weberi ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *''

Oreocarya welshii ''Oreocarya'' (Perennial Cat's-Eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of s ...

'' *'' Oreocarya wetherillii''

References

Other sources

* Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora. * Johnston, I. M. 1927. Studies in the Boraginaceae VI. A revision of the South American Boraginoideae. Contr. Gray Herb. 78:31. {{Taxonbar, from=Q15938374 Boraginoideae Boraginaceae genera Plants described in 1887 Flora of Alaska Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Northwestern Mexico