Pickeringia Explained

Pickeringia is a monotypic genus^{[1] [2]} of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It was recently assigned to the unranked, monophyletic Cladrastis clade.^{[3] [4] [5]} It was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering. Its only species is Pickeringia montana, which is known by the common name chaparral pea. It is native to California, where its distribution extends along the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills, as well as the Peninsular Ranges of Southern California and northern Baja California. It is also known from Santa Cruz Island.^{[6] [7]}

It is one of very few legumes native to the chaparral habitat. Its nitrogen-fixing ability helps it thrive in rocky, sandy soil. The plant is also well-suited to a landscape of hills, slopes, and recently burned areas; its roots spread quickly and help anchor loose soil, preventing erosion.

Description

The chaparral pea rarely sprouts from seed. More often it sends up new stems from roots growing outward from the mother plant. It forms low, dense, thorny thickets of shiny dark green leaves. In spring and summer the plant blooms in bright magenta flowers. It bears pods containing pealike seeds.

There are two subspecies of chaparral pea:

• Pickeringia montana subsp. montana is widespread in California.
• Pickeringia montana subsp. tomentosa, sometimes called woolly chaparral pea, is limited to the hills of southern California.

External links

• USDA Plants Profile; Pickeringia montana
• Jepson Manual Treatment - Pickeringia montana

Notes and References

1. Web site: ILDIS LegumeWeb entry for Pickeringia . . International Legume Database & Information Service . Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics . 12 February 2014 .
2. Web site: GRIN species records of Pickeringia . USDA . USDA . ARS . Agricultural Research Service . National Genetic Resources Program . Germplasm Resources Information Network—(GRIN) [Online Database] . National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland . 12 February 2014 .
3. Cardoso D, Pennington RT, de Queiroz LP, Boatwright JS, Van Wyk BE, Wojciechowski MF, Lavin M . 2013 . Reconstructing the deep-branching relationships of the papilionoid legumes . . 89 . 58–75 . 10.1016/j.sajb.2013.05.001 . free . 10566/3193 . free .
4. Cardoso D, de Queiroz LP, Pennington RT, de Lima HC, Fonty É, Wojciechowski MF, Lavin M . 2012 . Revisiting the phylogeny of papilionoid legumes: new insights from comprehensively sampled early-branching lineages . . 99 . 12 . 1991–2013 . 10.3732/ajb.1200380 . 23221500.
5. Wojciechowski MF . 2013 . The origin and phylogenetic relationships of the Californian chaparral 'paleoendemic' Pickeringia (Leguminosae) . . 38 . 1 . 132–142 . 10.1600/036364413X662024 . 86331839 .
6. Howard JL. 1992. Pickeringia montana. In: Fire Effects Information System. USDA FS. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
7. https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=38189 Pickeringia montana