''Monardella candicans'' is a species of flowering plant in the
mint family
The Lamiaceae ( )
or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, sav ...
known by the common name Sierra monardella.
Distribution
It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
foothills of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where it grows in several types of local habitat, including
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
, woodland, and forests.
Description
''Monardella candicans'' is an annual herb producing a purple stem with lance-shaped green leaves arranged oppositely. The
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
is a head of several flowers blooming in a cup of green, veined
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s. Each five-lobed flower is white, sometimes with purple speckles, and roughly a centimeter long.
External links
Calflora Database: ''Monardella candicans'' (Sierra monardella)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Monardella candicans''USDA Plants Profile for ''Monardella candicans''UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Monardella candicans'' (Sierra monardella)
candicans
Endemic flora of California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
Taxa named by George Bentham
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Lamiaceae-stub