Odontostomum
Encyclopedia
Odontostomum is a monotypic genus (biology) genus of flowering plant
s containing the single species Odontostomum hartwegii, which is known by the common name Hartweg's doll's-lily. In the APG III classification system
, it is placed in the family
Tecophilaeaceae
. It was formerly placed in the Liliaceae
. It This wildflower is endemic to northern California
, where it can be found in the inner coastal mountain ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows in rocky clay
and often serpentine soil
s in grassland and woodland habitat, sometimes near vernal pool
s. This is a perennial herb growing from an oval-shaped corm
up to 3 centimeters wide deep in the soil. The curving, widely branching stem is up to about half a meter in maximum height with linear leaves up to 30 centimeters long sheathing the lower portion. The inflorescence
is a raceme
or panicle
of several flowers on pedicels
. Each flower has six white or yellowish tepal
s, the lower parts fused into a veined tube and the tips spreading and then becoming reflexed. At the center of the flower are six stamen
s and six staminode
s in a ring around the gynoecium
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s containing the single species Odontostomum hartwegii, which is known by the common name Hartweg's doll's-lily. In the APG III classification system
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
, it is placed in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Tecophilaeaceae
Tecophilaeaceae
Tecophilaeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.The family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system of 2009 does recognize this family...
. It was formerly placed in the Liliaceae
Liliaceae
The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...
. It This wildflower is endemic to 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...
, where it can be found in the inner coastal mountain ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows in rocky clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and often 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 in grassland and woodland habitat, sometimes near 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. This is a perennial herb growing from an oval-shaped corm
Corm
A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
up to 3 centimeters wide deep in the soil. The curving, widely branching stem is up to about half a meter in maximum height with linear leaves up to 30 centimeters long sheathing the lower portion. 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...
or panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of several flowers on pedicels
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 six white or yellowish tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, the lower parts fused into a veined tube and the tips spreading and then becoming reflexed. At the center of the flower are six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and six staminode
Staminode
In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen. This means that it does not produce pollen. Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the...
s in a ring around the gynoecium
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...
.