''Gilmania luteola'' (called golden carpet or goldencarpet) is a rare
annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...
in the Buckwheat family (
Polygonaceae
The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The Botanical name, name is Basionym, based on the genus ''Polygonum'', ...
).
[Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd ed., p 250]
It is found only on barren
alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...
slopes in
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer.
Death Valley's Badwat ...
, California, United States, especially near
Artist's Palette
A palette () is a surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. A palette is made of materials such as wood, paper, glass, ceramic or plastic, and can vary greatly in size and shape. Watercolor palettes are generally made of plastic or po ...
.
[
The plant grows in mats very low to the ground.][ There are only five known occurrences as of 2013.][ It grows only in very wet years, which rarely occur in the region.
The yellow flowers are quite small, and the plant has greenish-yellowish ]foliage
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...
. It is the only species in the monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
genus ''Gilmania''.
References
* Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Jon Mark Stewart, 1998, pg. 56
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment
USDA Plants Profile
Flora of North America
Photo gallery
Monotypic Polygonaceae genera
Flora of California
Natural history of Inyo County, California
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Polygonaceae-stub