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Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens
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Photographer: Aaron Schusteff
ID: 0000 0000 0611 0441 (2011-06-07)Copyright © 2011 Aaron Schusteff
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INFORMATION PROVIDED WITH THE PHOTO
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date of photo Jun 2, 2005
latitude 36.97722 longitude -121.89833 max error distance 1281 meters
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horizontal datum World Geodetic System 1984 georeferencing source GEOLocatelocation
Aptos area (Santa Cruz County, California, US)family
Polygonaceae
plant community Openings in maritime chaparral on sandy subtrate.notes Gestalt of Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens showing stems; leaves; and numerous involucres (= fused bracts enclosing flowers). Each spiny involucre looks star-like with its six thin, white, scarious-margined teeth. That's where the common name of ''spine-flower'' comes from (though it's the involucres that are spiny...not the actual flowers). Much of year the clusters of sharp, spiny, star-like involucres are all you see...and if you walk bare-foot or sit-down on top of these plants you'll likely wish you hadn't. But the plants will be grateful, because sticking on the surface of a passing mammal, bird, or reptile is presumably an effective mode of dispersal for the plants seeds :-). When I first ''met'' this plant, I thought the involucres were the flowers! (The common name ''spine-flower'' helped mislead me.) However, if you look closely here, you'll notice a number of actual flowers sticking out of the centers of their involucres. In the genus Chorizanthe, each involucre typically has a single flower...as opposed to the related genus Eriogonum, which has many flowers per involucre. Presumably this is one reason why Eriogonum species are generally more prolific than Chorizanthes. photo category: Plant - annual/perennial
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PLANT
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| Look for Jepson Manual treatments, maps (University & Jepson Herbaria)View Calflora record for Chorizanthe pungens var. pungensView all photos in CalPhotos of Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens Check Google Images for Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens |
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The photographer's identification Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens has not been reviewed. Click here to review or comment on the identification. |
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Using this photo The thumbnail photo (128x192 pixels) on this page may be freely used for personal or academic purposes without prior permission under the Fair Use provisions of US copyright law as long as the photo is clearly credited with © 2011 Aaron Schusteff.
For other uses, or if you have questions, contact Aaron Schusteff arbonius2[AT]sbcglobal.net. (Replace the [AT] with the @ symbol before sending an email.) |
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