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Meconella oregana

(White Fairypoppy)

Overview

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Threatened
Threat status

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

White Fairypoppy, White Meconella

Description

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Family Papaveraceae

Herbs or subshrubs , shrubs , or small trees , annual , biennial, or perennial , scapose or caulescent , usually from taproots , sometimes from rhizomes; sap clear, white, or colored , often sticky. Stems leafy or naked, erect , spreading , or decumbent , simple or branching. Leaves basal and/or cauline, alternate to opposite or whorled , simple, without stipules, petiolate or sessile; blade unlobed or with 1-3 odd-pinnate, subpalmate, or palmate orders of lobes . Inflorescences axillary or terminal , unifloral or else multifloral and cymiform, racemose, umbelliform, corybiform, or paniculate , pedunculate or subsessile ; bracts usually present. Flowers radially symmetric , pedicellate or sessile; receptacle sometimes expanded and forming cup or ring beneath calyx (only in Eschscholzia, Meconella, and Platystemon ) ; perianth and androecium sometimes perigynous; sepals caducous , 2 or 3, distinct or connate , usually obovate ; petals distinct, usually obovate, mostly 2 times number of sepals, sometimes more or absent; stamens many or 4-15 (only in Meconella and Canbya ) ; anthers 2-locular; pistil 1, 2-18[-22]-carpellate; ovary 1-2-locular or incompletely to completely multilocular by placental intrusion; placentas 2 or more, parietal ; style 1 or absent; stigmas or stigma lobes 2-many. Fruits capsular , dehiscence valvate , poricidal , or transverse , or carpels dissociating and breaking transversely into 1-seeded segments (only in Platystemon ) . Seeds usually many, small, sometimes arillate or carunculate.

Genera 25-30 (17 genera, 63 species in the flora ) : worldwide, mainly Northern Hemisphere.

According to W. R. Ernst (1962b), Papaveraceae "may be divided conveniently into four subfamilies." His scheme is followed here, but with the subfamilies taken up in alphabetic order; they seem to be natural groups, but their phylogenetic interrelationships are not yet clear. Similarly, the evolutionary relationships within the subfamilies remain ambiguous, and the genera in each are listed alphabetically. Subfamily Chelidonioideae Ernst includes genera 1-5; subf. Eschscholzioideae Ernst, genera 6-7; subf. Papavaroideae Ernst, genera 8-14; and subf. Platostamenoideae Ernst, genera 15-17.[1]

Genus Meconella

Herbs, annual , caulescent , glabrous or glabrate , from fibrous roots . Stems leafy, mostly at base , erect to decumbent , simple or branching. Leaves: basal rosulate, winged-petiolate; cauline opposite or whorled , subsessile or sessile; blades unlobed. Inflorescences axillary or terminal , 1-flowered; bracts absent; bud globose , nodding . Flowers: receptacle sometimes expanded into small ring beneath calyx; sepals 3, with overlapping, loosely connivent flaps; petals 6; stamens 4-6 in 1 series or ca. 12 in 2 series; filaments usually dilated distally; pistil 3-carpellate; ovary 1-locular, linear-oblong; stigmas 3. Capsules erect, linear , greatly elongate at maturity and often spirally twisted, dehiscing apically by separation of valvelike carpels. Seeds few, black, shiny, aril absent. x = 8.

Species 3: far w North America.[2]

Physical Description

Species Meconella oregana

Plants 0.2-1.6 dm. Stems erect to ascending . Leaves 3-18 mm; proximal cauline whorled , blade linear-spatulate; distal usually opposite, blade broadly linear ; petiole to 10 mm; margins entire. Inflorescences: peduncle 2-8 cm. Flowers: receptacle shorter than broad, expanded into small ring beneath calyx; petals white, alternately obovate and oblanceolate , 1-5 × 1-3 mm, apex rounded ; stamens 4-6, in 1 series; filaments ± equal, usually as broad as anthers ; anthers ovoid , minute, much shorter than filaments. Capsules to 25 × 1.5 mm. 2 n = 16. [source]

Flowers of Meconella oregana often display irregularities such as fusion, loss, or addition of parts (W. R. Ernst 1962). Some specimens from central California (Alameda and Contra Costa counties) are difficult to assign with certainty to either M. oregana or M. californica. Depauperate plants of the latter species sometimes can be distinguished from M. oregana only by their unequal and more numerous stamens (W. R. Ernst 1967). [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: April. • Flower Color: near white, white

Habitat

Sandy bluffs , meadows and partly sunny, moist banks; of conservation concern; 0-300 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,400 meters (0 to 4,593 feet).[4]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Meconella

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 12 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. californica (California Fairypoppy) · M. californica var. torreyi · M. collina · M. denticulata (Small-Flower Meconella) · M. kakoethes · M. linearis · M. linearis var. pulchellum · M. octandra · M. oregana (White Fairypoppy) · M. oregana californica · M. oregana var. californica · M. oregana var. octandra

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Robert W. Kiger "Papaveraceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Gary L. Hannan "Meconella". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Meconella oregana". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 805.660 meters (2,643.241 feet), Standard Deviation = 438.020 based on 29 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/2/2009