''Wilhelmsia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus of plants in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

. It contains only one species, ''Wilhelmsia physodes,'' native to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, northern

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 ...

(

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

), and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. ''Wilhelmsia physodes'' is distinctive in the family because of its large, inflated ovary that develops into a round, purple capsule up to 10 mm in diameter, partially septate (divided inside) into 3 compartments, each with 2 teeth on the outside. The plant is a perennial herb spreading by means of underground rhizomes. Stems are generally prostrated except for the upright flowering stalk. Leaves are up to 15 mm. Sepals are green, tinged with purple. Petals are white. Flora of North America vol 5
/ref>Toolik Arctic Geobotanical Atlas, photo library, Wilhelmsia physodes
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17099801, from2=Q10393641 Caryophyllaceae Monotypic Caryophyllaceae genera Flora of Alaska Flora of Russia Flora of Yukon Flora of the Northwest Territories Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach