Cistanthe monosperma

Cistanthe monosperma (formerly Calyptridium monospermum) is a perennial plant in the miner's lettuce family (Montiaceae), known by the common name one-seeded pussypaws.[1] It was formerly classified in the purslane family (Portulacaceae).

Cistanthe monosperma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Cistanthe
Species:
C. monosperma
Binomial name
Cistanthe monosperma
(Greene) Hershkovitz
Synonyms

Calyptridium monospermum Greene

Range and habitat

It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including forest and woodland.

Growth pattern, leaves, and stems

It is a perennial herb growing from a thick caudex and a taproot. It grows somewhat upright, the plant approaching half a meter in maximum length. There is a basal rosette of thick, generally spoon-shaped leaves up to about 6 centimeters long, with a few smaller leaves along the stems.

C. monospermum usually has more than one inflorescence per basal rosette; the related Cistanthe umbellata generally has only one.[2]

Inflorescence and fruit

The inflorescence is an erect umbel up to 10 centimeters wide. The four petals on each flower are white to pink, and are surrounded closely by round, frilly sepals. The fruit is a small, round capsule a few millimeters wide.

It blooms from April to September.[1]

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References
  1. Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd E. 2013, p. 75
  2. "Key to Calyptridium". Jepson Herbarium. Retrieved 16 January 2020.


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