''Spenceria ramalana'' is the lone species in the plant genus ''Spenceria'', known by two varieties. ''S. ramalana'' grows from 18–32 cm. tall, and puts out yellow

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s from July through August; bearing fruit (yellowish-brown

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

s) from September to October. The Chinese name, ''ma ti huang'' ��蹄黄 can be translated to mean "yellow horseshoe".

Etymology

Henry Trimen Henry Trimen (26 October 1843 – 16 October 1896) was a British botanist who worked in Sri Lanka. He named several plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. Life Trimen was born in Park Place, Paddington, London, England, the son of Richard an ...

, both the genus, and binomial authority of ''Spenceria'', and ''S. ramalana'', respectively, gave an explanation of how he arrived at these names: the genus name was given in honor of Trimen's friend, and fellow botanist,

Spencer Moore Spencer Moore (born July 25, 1990) is a professional Canadian football fullback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted in the fifth round, 44th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2013 CFL Draft and ...

, who was employed at Kew Herbarium. Trimen thought about choosing a name commemorating the collector of the species, one Captain Gill, R.E., but decided against it, as there already was a genus ''

Gilia ''Gilia'' is a genus of between 25 and 50 species of flowering plants in the Polemoniaceae family and is related to phlox. These Western native plants are best sown in sunny, well-draining soil in the temperate and tropical regions of the Amer ...

'' (Polemoniaceae), and he wished to avoid, in his words, "the formation of another of precisely similar sound." As the species was collected from a mountain named Ra-Ma-La, it is likely that the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''"ramalana"'' was chosen as a

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

(the suffix ''"-ana"'' meaning "belonging to", hence "from Ra-Ma-La").

Distribution

''Spenceria ramalana'' is native to

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

and China (in the provinces of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

Xizang The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

(Tibet), and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

Habitat

''Spenceria ramalana'' inhabits

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

montane 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 ...

slopes and

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artif ...

s (elev. 3000–5000 m.)

Uses

Both varieties of ''S. ramalana'' have been used locally in traditional folk medicine.

References

External links

Photo of ''S. ramalana'' with flowers
from

Flora of China The flora of China consists of a diverse range of plant species including over 39,000 vascular plants, 27,000 species of fungi and 3000 species of bryophytes.Wu, Z. Y., P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong, eds. 2006. Flora of China. Vol. 22 (Poaceae). ...

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q9079291, from2=Q7576237 Agrimoniinae Monotypic Rosaceae genera Flora of Bhutan Flora of China Medicinal plants