''Laphamia inyoensis'' (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Perityle inyoensis''), known by the common names Inyo rockdaisy and Inyo laphamia, is a rare species of flowering plant in the

aster family Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

.Jepson eFlora
/ref>Flora of North America
/ref> 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 ...

Inyo County Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is ...

in eastern

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 ...

. It is known from just 10 populations in the southern

Inyo Mountains The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast f ...

, at elevations of . California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): ''Perityle inyoensis''
. accessed 20 February 2017. Its habitat is dry, rocky mountain slopes, often in

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Description

''Laphamia inyoensis'' is a

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often interch ...

made up of a cluster of several hairy slender stems up to about 25 centimeters long. The hairy, glandular leaves are one or two centimeters long, oval to triangular, pointed, and toothed on the edges. They may be arranged oppositely or alternately on the stems. 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 ...

bears one to three

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

each under a centimeter wide. The head has yellow disc florets and no ray florets. The fruit is a fuzzy

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

about 3 millimeters long. ;Conservation It is a

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to c ...

listed

Endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, and is threatened by proposed mining.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Perityle inyoensis'' (Inyo rock daisy)Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Laphamia inyoensis''USDA Plants Profile for ''Perityle inyoensis'' (Inyo rock daisy) UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Perityle inyoensis''
Perityleae Endemic flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Inyo Mountains Natural history of Inyo County, California Plants described in 1958 {{Asteroideae-stub