Purple Amole (Chlorogalum purpureum)
Description
Chlorogalum purpureum is a species of flowering plant related to the agaves known by the common name purple amole.This species of soap plant is endemic to California, where it grows in the Santa Lucia Range, in the Central Coast region.There are two varieties of this plant, and both are believed to be quite rare. It is a federally listed threatened species.Chlorogalum purpureum is a perennial plant growing from a bulb about 3 centimeters in diameter. The narrow, wavy leaves grow at the base of the stem. The leaves are bright green and have thick midribs. There are usually one to eight leaves, but plants with up to fourteen have been noted. The stem bears flowers at widely spaced nodes. Each flower has curled tepals each less than a centimeter long in shades of blue or purple; all other Chlorogalum species have white or pink flowers. The flowers have long stamens with yellow anthers around a protruding style.The two varieties of the species can be told apart by their sizes; var. purpureum (the variety usually called purple amole) grows up to 40 centimeters tall and var. reductum (Camatta Canyon amole) reaches only 20 centimeters. About 90% of the plants are of var. purpureum
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: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Asparagaceae
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Genus: Chlorogalum
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