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 Male flowers Kirsten Phillips @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Leaves and flowers Kirsten Phillips @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial Similar Species: Lewisia pygmaea
General Desc:
Hairless leaves grow only at the base; 1 to several stems, each topped by one flower; 2 broad, light green, sepal-like bracts. Leaves wither during or immediately after the flowering phase.
Identification notes: Perennial with short thick taproot and woody base; basal rosette of thick, fleshy, blunt-tipped narrow leaves; flowers sit atop leaf rosette; white, pink, pinkish-purple petals; bracts resemble sepals.
Height:
1 to 3 inches
Habitat Description: Meadows, mesas, forested and montane habitats; among oaks junipers and pines.
Plant Communities:
Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 5000 - 8000 feet
Color:
White, pink, pinkish-purple
Shape:
Regular not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - May
Description:
Solitary on leafless stem; leaf-like lower bracts; membrane-like upper bracts; flowers 2 inches in diameter; 2 sepals 1/8 to 1/4 inch long; 5 oblong, leaf-like petals 1/2 inch long; 9 to 15 stamens, with white filaments and yellow anthers.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Numerous, basal leaves in spreading rosette; oblong to 3 inches; hairless, fleshy; margins smooth; sharp pointed to blunt tip; blades stemless or tapering to a broad stalk.
Fruit Color: Black
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; splitting or opening along the circumference, with the top coming off like a lid (circumscissile).
Seed Notes: Numerous, 1/16 inch long, black, shiny.
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