Erythranthe lewisii explained

Erythranthe lewisii (Lewis' monkeyflower, great purple monkeyflower) is a perennial plant in the family Phrymaceae. It is named in honor of explorer Meriwether Lewis. Together with other species in Erythranthe, it serves as a model system for studying pollinator-based reproductive isolation. It was formerly known as Mimulus lewisii.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Description

Erythranthe lewisii is a perennial herb, with stem length ranging from 25 to 80 cm and individual leaves ranging from 20 to 70 mm. The vegetative tissue is covered with fine hairs. The flowers are medium in size, set on fairly long (30–70 mm) pedicels, and range in color from pale pink (generally found in the Sierra Nevada populations, sometimes separated as Erythranthe erubescens G.L.Nesom) to dark magenta (more common in the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains populations), with a central pair of carotenoid-rich yellow nectar guides covered in trichomes on the lower lobe of the corolla. Occasional populations of white-flowered individuals (which do not express anthocyanin pigments in the corolla) are known.[5] [6] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Erythranthe lewisii is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist habitat such as stream banks,[8] and is generally found at higher elevations in montane areas.[9]

Pollination

Erythranthe lewisii is pollinated by bees (primarily Bombus and Osmia), which feed off of its nectar and transfer its pollen. Although it is fully interfertile with its sister species, E. cardinalis, the two do not interbreed in the wild, a difference ascribed primarily to pollinator differences (E. cardinalis is pollinated by hummingbirds) in areas of overlap.[10] [11] [12]

Uses

This plant is cultivated as an ornamental in mild or coastal areas, as it does not tolerate prolonged freezing. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[13] It prefers a very damp soil in full sunlight.

Native Americans ate the leaves of the plant.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Barker . W. L. (Bill) . etal . 2012 . A Taxonomic Conspectus of Phyrmaceae: A Narrowed Circumscription for MIMULUS, New and Resurrected Genera, and New Names and Combinations . Phytoneuron . 39 . 1–60 . 2153-733X.
  2. Beardsley . P. M. . Yen . Alan . Olmstead . R. G. . 2003 . AFLP Phylogeny of Mimulus Section Erythranthe and the Evolution of Hummingbird Pollination . Evolution . 57 . 6 . 1397–1410 . 3448862 . 10.1554/02-086 . 12894947 . 198154155.
  3. Beardsley . P. M. . Olmstead . R. G. . 2002 . Redefining Phrymaceae: the placement of Mimulus, tribe Mimuleae, and Phryma . American Journal of Botany . 89 . 7 . 1093–1102 . 10.3732/ajb.89.7.1093 . 4122195 . 21665709.
  4. Beardsley . P. M. . Schoenig . Steve E. . Whittall . Justen B. . Olmstead . Richard G. . 2004 . Patterns of Evolution in Western North American Mimulus (Phrymaceae) . American Journal of Botany . 91 . 3 . 474–4890 . 4123743 . 10.3732/ajb.91.3.474 . 21653403 . free.
  5. http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&seq_num=114304&one=T Calphotos: White Mimulus lewisii from Alpine Co., CA
  6. http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/bloomtime/centraloprev/centralo.htm Wildflower Bloom for Columbia & Great Basins of Central and Eastern Oregon 1995-2000: White Mimulus lewisii from eastern Oregon
  7. http://www.liberterre.fr/gaiasophia/autopoesie/index.html Liberterre: Evolutions de Mimulus lewisii à Crater Lake dans l'Oregon
  8. Web site: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin . 2022-06-18 . www.wildflower.org.
  9. Web site: Burke Herbarium Image Collection . 2022-06-18 . biology.burke.washington.edu.
  10. Pollinator preference and the evolution of floral traits in monkeyflowers (Mimulus) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA . 96 . 21 . 11910–11915 . 1999 . 10.1073/pnas.96.21.11910 . Schemske . Douglas W. . Bradshaw Jr. . H. D. . 18386 . 10518550 . 1999PNAS...9611910S . free.
  11. 10.1038/nature02106 . Allele substitution at a flower colour locus produces a pollinator shift in monkeyflowers . Schemske . Douglas W. . Bradshaw Jr. . H. D. . Nature . 2003 . 426 . 6963 . 176–178 . 14614505 . 2003Natur.426..176B . 4350778.
  12. Errata: On the Relative Importance of Floral Color, Shape, and Nectar Rewards in Attracting Pollinators to Mimulus . The Great Basin Naturalist . 56 . 31 . 282 . 1996 . 41712949.
  13. Web site: Mimulus lewisii . www.rhs.org . Royal Horticultural Society . 3 January 2021.
  14. Book: Reiner, Ralph E. . Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies . Glacier Park, Inc. . 1969 . 110.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Erythranthe lewisii".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.