Beaked Spiny Polygala (Rhinotropis heterorhyncha)
Description
Polygala heterorhyncha is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common names beaked spiny polygala and notch-beaked milkwort. It is native to southern Nevada and it is known from a few occurrences just over the border in the Funeral Mountains of California above Death Valley. It is a resident of desert scrub habitat. This desert plant is a perennial herb or small shrub growing in small clumpy mats. The thin, branching, thorny-tipped stems are somewhat waxy in texture and sometimes slightly hairy. They are lined sparsely with small oval, dull-pointed leaves. The inflorescence bears a few flowers, each with a winglike pair of bright pink sepals and a yellow-tipped central petal. The fruit is a vein-streaked capsule.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Fabales
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Family: Polygalaceae
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Genus: Rhinotropis
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