Polemonium chartaceum
Encyclopedia
Polemonium chartaceum is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family
known by the common names Mason's Jacob's-ladder and Mason's sky pilot. It is native to California
, where it has a disjunct distribution
. It occurs in the Klamath Mountains
as well as the ranges east of the Sierra Nevada, including the White Mountains
, where its distribution extends just into Nevada
. It is a plant of high elevations, growing in exposed, rocky mountain slope habitat such as talus
and alpine
fellfield
s.
This is a perennial herb producing a small clump of a few erect stems reaching 30 centimeters in maximum height. Leaves clustered around the base of the stems are cylindrical bunches of many small, glandular leaflets. Each leaflet is deeply divided into lobes, making it appear like several leaflets growing together. The inflorescence
is a headlike cluster of several flowers atop the short, stout stem. Each flower has a tubular calyx of densely hairy sepal
s and a five-lobed corolla in shades of pale blue with a whitish or yellowish throat.
Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae are a family of about 25 genera with 270-400 species of annual and perennial plants, native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity in western North America, especially in California.Only one genus is found in Europe, and two in Asia, where they...
known by the common names Mason's Jacob's-ladder and Mason's sky pilot. It is native to 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 has a disjunct distribution
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
. It occurs in 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...
as well as the ranges east of the Sierra Nevada, including the White Mountains
White Mountains (California)
The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...
, where its distribution extends just into Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. It is a plant of high elevations, growing in exposed, rocky mountain slope habitat such as talus
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
and alpine
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
fellfield
Fellfield
A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices.-Soil dynamics:...
s.
This is a perennial herb producing a small clump of a few erect stems reaching 30 centimeters in maximum height. Leaves clustered around the base of the stems are cylindrical bunches of many small, glandular leaflets. Each leaflet is deeply divided into lobes, making it appear like several leaflets growing together. 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 headlike cluster of several flowers atop the short, stout stem. Each flower has a tubular calyx of densely hairy 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 a five-lobed corolla in shades of pale blue with a whitish or yellowish throat.