Pinos Altos Fameflower (Phemeranthus humilis)
Description
Succulent perennial herb; taproot tuberous, roughly globose to broadly napiform, up to 5 cm in diameter (usually less); stems short, usually not extending above the ground surface, terminated by a leafy rosette 5-15 cm in diameter; leaves terete, 3-10 cm long, 3-5 mm thick, light glaucous-green to yellowish green; inflorescence an indeterminate cyme with slender peduncles, procumbent to ascending, usually exceeding leaves by less than 1/2 of total inflorescence length; flowers perfect, roughly 1 cm in diameter; sepals 2, foliaceous, deciduous in fruit; petals 5, yellow; stamens 10 (5-15); fruit three-valved, acute, greenish, often with reddish to purplish lines along margins of valves, disintegrating by dehiscence at maturity; seeds black, about 0.8 mm in diameter, nearly discoid, often slightly concave on one or both sides, with concentric raised ridges, covered by thin translucent aril (pellicle) which gives a grayish or slightly bluish appearance and conforms to the underlying concentric ridges. Flowers July to September.
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: Caryophyllales
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Family: Montiaceae
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Genus: Phemeranthus
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