''Erocallis triphylla'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Montiaceae Montiaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 14 genera with about 230 known species, ranging from small herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. The family Montiaceae was newly adopted in the APG ...

known by the common name threeleaf lewisia. It is the sole species in genus ''Erocallis''. It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

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 ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. It grows in mountain and forest habitat, often in wet, rocky alpine areas where it may bloom through the snowmelt. This is a perennial herb growing from a fibrous

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

and

corm Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ''c ...

unit. Instead of a basal rosette like many other ''

Lewisia ''Lewisia'' is a plant genus, named for the American explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) who encountered the species in 1806. The native habitat of ''Lewisia'' species is rocky ground and cliffs in western North America. Native Americans in the ...

'' species it produces 2 to 5 short, slender, fleshy leaves from the lower part of the stem, which may be at or under the soil surface. The small stem bears an

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 ...

of 1 to 25 flowers. The flower has 5 to 9 small white or pinkish petals often marked with darker veining or stripes.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
Montiaceae Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of California Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1875 Flora without expected TNC conservation status Monotypic Caryophyllales genera {{Caryophyllales-stub