Montia chamissoi
| Montia chamissoi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Montiaceae |
| Genus: | Montia |
| Species: | M. chamissoi |
| Binomial name | |
| Montia chamissoi (Ledeb. ex Spreng.) Greene | |
Montia chamissoi is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common names of water minerslettuce,[1] water montia, Indian lettuce, and toad lily. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to the southwestern and central United States and also in British Columbia. It grows in moist to wet soils in a variety of habitat types, such as meadows, wetlands, plains, and montanes (Kershaw et al., 1998). It is sometimes aquatic, anchoring in mud and floating in water.
Description
Montia chamissoi has also been called Claytonia chammisoi. Montia chamissoi is a perennial herb growing from a pinkish rhizome and spreading through stolons. The fleshy stems are erect, creeping, tangled in mats, or floating, growing from five to twenty centimeters long. The oblong or widely lance-shaped leaves are oppositely arranged and measure anywhere from two to five centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a raceme of two or more flowers, sometimes arising from leaf axils. The flower has usually five white or pinkish petals just under a centimeter in length and includes five stamens with a style tipped with three stigmas. Their fruits involve egg-shaped capsules that are widest above the middle that range from two to three millimeters long. These fruits are black, bumpy, shiny, and oblong shaped. The flower blooms from June to August (Kershaw et al., 1998).
Distribution
M. chamissoi appears between 7,000 to 9,000 feet in elevation (Brussard, 1982). and are endemic to western North America.Wetlands, montanes, and prairie zones are where M. chamissoi thrive. They occur in the Rocky Mountain region, Pacific Alaska Region, Pacific Region, and even in part of the mid-atlantic and great lakes region. They are also highly prevalent in Canada including Alberta and British Columbia. It can also grow on the dry slopes of the plains and foothills creating a huge distribution. It is found along coastal areas but this is mostly rare (Brussard, 1982).
Related Species
Related taxa involves 10 genera in Portulacaceae and 9 species in Montia. A few genera related are spring beauty ( Claytonia L.), fame flower (Talinum adans.), and red maids (Calandria kunth). Like M. chamissoi these genera have very large distributions and stamens. Montia fontana and Motia parvifolia are two relating species that involve wide distributions but differ in the fact that the distributions are higher in elevation and take up most of Canada and Greenland. (“Montia Chamissoi”).
Genus Montia
- Montia bostockii- dicot with small green leaves, and white yellow pink blotches petals.
- Montia dichotoma- white petals with small head
- Montia diffusa- five purple and white petals
- Montia fontana- waxy like cuticle, dominantly green,annual
- Montia howellii- annual, green and grass-like
- Montia linearis- dicot and narrow leaved.
- Montia parvifolia- small rosettes of red and pink basal leaved.
- Montia rivularis- round and bush-like.
Preservation
Brussard noted that there have been failures and success when trying to preserve M.chamissoi due to mining development that has lowered small M. chamissoi populations in the United States (Brussard, 1982). Brussard (1982) observed that a population of M. chamissoi was destroyed by road construction near a ski area and it was also noted that this was the only known population in Gunnison County, Colorado. This led to an increase in Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratories and helped establish the laboratory’s claim to undisturbed habitat as a natural resource (Brussard, 1982). It is also a rare plant species in British Columbia and is a candidate species for restoration and preservation. (Rose & Burton, 2011). Even though, M.chamissoi has a very wide distribution it is currently listed on the endangered list in Minnesota and Pennsylvania and is in the progress of restoration (“Montia chamissoi”).
Photos
References
- ↑ "Montia chamissoi". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
Brussard, Peter F. (1982). The role of field stations in the preservation of biological diversity. BioScience, 32, 327-330.
Kershaw, Linda, Mackinnon, Andy, Pojar, Jim. (1998). Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Canada:Lone Pine Publishing
Montia chamissoi. (n.d.). In United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved from http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOCH
Rose, N.-A. and P. J. Burton. (2011). Persistent climate corridors: The identification of climate refugia in British Columbia’s Central Interior for the selection of candidate areas for conservation. BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management, 12, 101–117.