Caltha sagittata
| Caltha sagittata | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Caltha |
| Species: | C. sagittata |
| Binomial name | |
| Caltha sagittata Cav. | |
| Synonyms | |
Caltha sagittata is a low or middle high, perennial herb with ivory (or pale yellow) and hermaphrodite flowers that seem to sit in the middle of a rosette of blunt, broad arrow-shaped leaves, with separated basal lobes that are often at a large angle with the remainder of the leafblade. It grows in clusters in sunny wet places in the Andes, mostly in the South of the continent. It is by far the most robust of the Southern Hemisphere Caltha species, and it extends furthest to the North.[3]
Description
C. sagittata has creeping rhizomes and eventually can form extensive clusters of plants that may, dependent on location, be up to 30 cm high. The petioles are 7–30 cm long and up to 7 mm wide. Its leafblades have a wide arrowhead shape with a retuse or blunt tip, and are between one and four cm long. Each leaf also has two basal lobes which extend as appendages that are about half as long as the main blade, and are almost free, except for a small bridge along the middle vein of the leaf. These appendages are often approximately at a right angle to the petiole. In some northern forms (sometimes regarded as a separate species, C. alata) however, the appendages are in the same plane as the remainder of the leafblade. The solitary actinomorphic flowers of 3 cm or more across have five to eight spreading, ivory to pallid yellow, petal-like sepals of ½–1½ cm long and 2–8 mm wide, and a faint scent of honey. There are between thirty and seventy five stamens, with broad filaments. C. sagittata is a variable species. It is often shy flowering.[2][3]
Distribution and Ecology
C. sagittata is found in Argentina (provinces of Chubut, Jujuy, La Rioja, Mendoza, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Santa Cruz, San Juan, Tierra del Fuego), Bolivia, Chile (Provinces of Coquimbo, O'Higgins, Maule, Bio Bio, Araucania, Los Lagos, Aisen, Magallanes, Reg. Metropolitana), Ecuador, Falklands, and Peru.[4] It ranges from sea level in Tierra del Fuego to about 4000 m at the banks of Lake Titicaca. It grows in moist open grassland with other low herbs, on rill banks, snowmelt trickle and sometimes in brackish habitats.[2]
References
- ↑ "Caltha sagittata". The Plantlist. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- 1 2 3 "Caltha sagittata". Alpine Garden Society Plant Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- 1 2 3 Petra G. Smit (1973). "A Revision of Caltha (Ranunculaceae)". Blumea 21: 119–150. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- ↑ "Caltha sagittata". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2016-01-05.