''Smithiastrum'' is a genus of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s in the

Campanulaceae The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants bel ...

or bellflower

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

found in the western United States. Its members, which are commonly known as harebells, were previously included in the family's

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

genus, ''

Campanula ''Campanula'' () is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family (biology), family of flowering plants. ''Campanula'' are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—''campanula'' i ...

'', but were segregated when it was found that ''Campanula'' was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. As of 2023, ''Smithiastrum'' comprises two species.

Description

''Smithiastrum'' is a small genus of slender

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbs. Species lack a basal rosette of

leaves 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, ...

. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are terminal or axillary. The

hypanthium In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the Sepal, calyx, the petal, corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and cal ...

is cylindrical or obconic with a squared base. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are highly slender and the corolla is noticeably divided for 66–90% of its length. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are slender and spreading to recurved. The fruiting capsule is ribbed and hemispherical to obconic.

Taxonomy and naming

''Smithiastrum'' was erected in 2020 by

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Nancy Morin in a paper

splitting Splitting may refer to: * Splitting (psychology) * Lumpers and splitters, in classification or taxonomy * Wood splitting * Tongue splitting * Splitting (raylway), Splitting, railway operation Mathematics * Heegaard splitting * Splitting field * S ...

several North American ''Campanula'' species into smaller genera to resolve a previously

grouping of genera in the Campanulaceae. The genus name honors James Payne Smith Jr., a California botanist. The latter half of the epithet, ''astrum'', denotes a star in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and refers to the shape of the flowers. The type species of ''Smithiastrum'', ''S. prenanthoides'', was originally placed in ''Campanula'' and has been included in '' Asyneuma''. The latter genus is distinguished from related genera by its completely divided corolla and paniculate

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 ...

s. However, the petals in ''S. prenanthoides'' are basally connate and less strongly flared. Further differences lie in the

filament The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including: Astronomy * Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe * Solar filament ...

structure,

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

papillae, and capsule shape. The only other species of ''Smithiastrum'' as of 2023, ''S. wilkinsianum'', had been suggested to be sister to ''S. prenanthoides'' in 2011 and 2018 before ''Smithiastrum'' was erected. Both species belong to the ''Rapunculus''

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, one of two deeply separated clades in ''Campanula'' sensu lato. As of August 2023, ''Smithiastrum'' consists of 2 accepted species:

Distribution and habitat

Members of ''Smithiastrum'' are found in the

coniferous forest Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...

s of California in the western

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 ...

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

, Klamath Range, North Coast Range, and western

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in the Coast and Cascade Ranges.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q121494151 Campanuloideae Campanulaceae genera