''Phyllodoce breweri'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

known by the common names purple mountain heath and Brewer's mountain heather. It is native to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it can be found in mountain ranges including the southern Cascade Range, the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...

, and 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 ...

, its distribution extending into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. It grows in rocky

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

mountain habitat, such as slopes and meadows.

Description

''Phyllodoce breweri'' is a matlike shrub with many short stems lined densely with leathery evergreen needlelike leaves. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

is a cluster of several flowers toward the ends of the stems, with some flowers occurring below in leaf axils. The bright purple-pink flowers are cup-shaped as the petals are fused except for the very tips, which roll under. At the center of the flower is a yellow

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the bod ...

and ten long, protruding

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s tipped with large anthers.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Phyllodoce breweri''USDA Plants Profile''Phyllodoce breweri'' — U.C. Photo gallery
Ericoideae Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ericaceae-stub