Calyptridium umbellatum explained

Calyptridium umbellatum, synonym Cistanthe umbellata, is a species of flowering plant in the montia family known by the common name Mount Hood pussypaws or — especially outside the Pacific Northwest — simply pussy-paws.[1]

Range

Calyptridium umbellatum is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including areas inhospitable to many other plant types, such as those with alpine climates.

A small subgroup of C. umbellatum are located in the Zayante Sandhills, a biological island in the Santa Cruz Mountains.[2] These individuals reside on a singular hill in the entirety of the sandhills, and their frail petals and loose seeds allow for easy wind dispersal.

Habit

It is a perennial herb forming generally two or more basal rosettes of thick, spoon-shaped leaves each a few centimeters long. The inflorescence arises from the rosette, a dense, spherical umbel of rounded sepals and four small petals.

C. umbellatum usually has only one inflorescence per basal rosette; the related C. monospermum generally has more than one.[3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Calyptridium umbellatum . CalFlora . 16 January 2020.
  2. Web site: The Rare Santa Cruz Sandhills and the People who Love Them . Bay Nature Magazine . 16 January 2020 . 13 April 2012.
  3. Web site: Key to Calyptridium . Jepson Herbarium . 16 January 2020.