Monardella purpurea
Encyclopedia
Monardella purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the mint family
known by the common names Siskiyou monardella and serpentine monardella.
It is native to the mountains of northern California
and southern Oregon
, including the Klamath Mountains
, where it grows in chaparral
and forest, often on serpentine soil
s.
The inflorescence
is a head of several flowers blooming in a cup of leathery purplish bract
s. The pinkish purple flowers are just over a centimeter long, narrow and tubular in shape with pointed lobes and protruding stamen
s.
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
known by the common names Siskiyou monardella and serpentine monardella.
It is native to the mountains of northern 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 southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon 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...
, including the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
, where it grows in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and forest, often on serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s.
Description
It is a perennial herb producing an erect, purple stem up to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The oppositely arranged leaves are leathery, widely lance-shaped, and up to 3 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 head of several flowers blooming in a cup of leathery purplish 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...
s. The pinkish purple flowers are just over a centimeter long, narrow and tubular in shape with pointed lobes and protruding stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s.