Calandrinia breweri
Encyclopedia
Calandrinia breweri is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family
known by the common name Brewer's redmaids. It is native to the coastal mountains and canyons of California
and Baja California
, where it grows in several types of habitat, including recently burned and otherwise disturbed areas. It is an annual herb producing thick, hairless stems up to 45 centimeters long which may grow upright or sprawl along the ground. The thick leaves are oval to spoon-shaped and up to 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of bright red to pink flowers, each on a long pedicel
. Each flower has generally five petals which are under half a centimeter long. The fruit is a capsule containing 10 to 15 seeds which are finely bumpy under magnification.
Portulacaceae
Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 20 genera with about 500 species, ranging from herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is also known as the purslane family; it has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the highest diversity...
known by the common name Brewer's redmaids. It is native to the coastal mountains and canyons of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in several types of habitat, including recently burned and otherwise disturbed areas. It is an annual herb producing thick, hairless stems up to 45 centimeters long which may grow upright or sprawl along the ground. The thick leaves are oval to spoon-shaped and up to 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of bright red to pink flowers, each on a long pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. Each flower has generally five petals which are under half a centimeter long. The fruit is a capsule containing 10 to 15 seeds which are finely bumpy under magnification.