Horkelia fusca
Encyclopedia
Horkelia fusca is a species of flowering plant in the rose family
known by several common names, including pinewoods horkelia and dusky horkelia. It is native to the western United States from California
to Wyoming
, where it is generally found in mountain forests and meadows. This perennial herb forms a thick tuft of leaves, each growing erect up to 15 centimeters tall. Each leaf is made up of wedge-shaped or rounded leaflets with toothed or lobed edges. These are often gray-green and somewhat hairy. The brown or reddish hairy stem reaches a maximum height near 60 centimeters and holds an inflorescence
of several clusters of flowers. Each flower has small, pointed bract
lets beneath larger green, red, or magenta sepal
s and five white to pinkish petals. The center of the flower has a ring of ten stamen
s around a bunch of 10 to 20 small pistils
.
There are several subspecies, including:
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
known by several common names, including pinewoods horkelia and dusky horkelia. It is native to the western United States from 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...
to Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, where it is generally found in mountain forests and meadows. This perennial herb forms a thick tuft of leaves, each growing erect up to 15 centimeters tall. Each leaf is made up of wedge-shaped or rounded leaflets with toothed or lobed edges. These are often gray-green and somewhat hairy. The brown or reddish hairy stem reaches a maximum height near 60 centimeters and holds an 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...
of several clusters of flowers. Each flower has small, pointed bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
lets beneath larger green, red, or magenta sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and five white to pinkish petals. The center of the flower has a ring of ten stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s around a bunch of 10 to 20 small pistils
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
.
There are several subspecies, including:
- H. f. subsp. capitata (bighead horkelia) - native to the Pacific NorthwestPacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
- H. f. subsp. filicoides - endemic to OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
- H. f. subsp. fusca - native to Oregon and Washington
- H. f. subsp. parviflora (smallflower horkelia) - throughout the range of the species
- H. f. subsp. tenella - occurs only in California