Epilobium pygmaeum
Encyclopedia
Epilobium pygmaeum is a species of willowherb
known by the common names Pygmy Willowherb and Smooth Boisduvalia. This plant is native to western North America from Baja California
to Saskatchewan
. It is a resident of vernal pool
s and mudflats. This is an annual rarely reaching half a meter in height. It is densely foliated in thick green leaves which are hairless lower on the stems and velvety to hairy toward the tips of the branches. The inflorescence
s at the ends of the stems are dense with small, pointed leaves between which the flowers emerge. Many of the flowers are cleistogamous
, meaning they self-pollinate without opening, while others open to reveal four bright pink darkly veined notched petals. The fruit is a small capsule a few millimeters long.
Epilobium
Epilobium is a genus in the family Onagraceae, containing about 160-200 species of flowering plants with a worldwide distribution. They are generally abundant in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics and tropics they are restricted to the cool montane biomes,...
known by the common names Pygmy Willowherb and Smooth Boisduvalia. This plant is native to western North America from 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...
to Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. It is a resident of vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s and mudflats. This is an annual rarely reaching half a meter in height. It is densely foliated in thick green leaves which are hairless lower on the stems and velvety to hairy toward the tips of the branches. 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...
s at the ends of the stems are dense with small, pointed leaves between which the flowers emerge. Many of the flowers are cleistogamous
Cleistogamy
Cleistogamy or automatic self-pollination describes the trait of certain plants to propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers...
, meaning they self-pollinate without opening, while others open to reveal four bright pink darkly veined notched petals. The fruit is a small capsule a few millimeters long.