''Ivesia muirii'' is a species of flowering plant 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 ...

known by the common name granite mousetail. 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 else ...

to the High Sierra Nevada of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where it grows on rocky slopes and cliffs. This is a small perennial herb growing in tufts of erect leaves and stems. The leaf is 2 to 5 centimeters long and is made up of many densely hairy overlapping leaflets such that the leaf is a cylindrical, pointed, whitish to silvery body. The mostly naked stem is up to 15 centimeters long and holds an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

of clustered flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter wide, with triangular

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 coine ...

s covered in long, white hairs. Between the sepals are narrow, pointed petals of bright yellow. In the center of the flower are a few stamens and

pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

. The fruit is an achene about two millimeters long which is gray with reddish spots.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
muirii Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Rosaceae-stub