Oreoxis humilis
| Oreoxis humilis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Oreoxis |
| Species: | O. humilis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Oreoxis humilis | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Oreoxis humilis, is a rare species of flowering plant in the parsley family known by the common name Pikes Peak spring-parsley. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the vicinity of Pikes Peak. There are three occurrences, for a total population of about 4240 individuals.
The plant is threatened by construction and maintenance on the Pikes Peak Highway.[1]
Description
This perennial herb grows to between 2 and 15 centimeters tall. It is almost entirely hairless, but occasionally some hairs at the base of it umbel or in the inflorescence.[3] All of its leaves are basal, growing directly from the base of the plant.[4] The leaves measure 0.5 to 4.5 cm long, excluding the leaf stem, and 0.5 to 1 cm wide.[3] It blooms with yellow flowers during the summer. It grows on granite substrates above the tree line.[1]
Taxonomy
Oreoxis humilis was scientifically named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1830.[2] Alongside Oreoxis bakeri, it is one of just two accepted species in the genus Oreoxis, also named by Rafinesque. The genus is classified as part of the family Apiaceae.[5] It has just one synonym, Cymopterus humilis, created when Ivar Tidestrom moved the species to Cymopterus in 1941. It has no subspecies.[2]
Names
Oreoxis humilis is known by the common names Pikes Peak spring-parsley,[1] dwarf alpine parsley,[4] and Rocky Mountain alpineparsley.[6]
Range and habitat
Pikes Peak spring-parsley grows in two Colorado counties, El Paso and Teller, on Pikes Peak. The size of its range is 48 square kilometers (19 sq mi), but the total area occupied by the plant is approximately 225 hectares (557 acres). There are three populations within its range with an estimated 4,240 plants,[1] but the Colorado Natural Heritage Program hypothesized that it may grow in every area above timberline on the mountain in 2001.[7] They grow at elevations of 3,290 to 4,270 meters (10,790 to 14,010 ft).[7]
It grows in alpine fellfields, slopes covered in rocks, alpine meadows, ridges, and amid boulder outcrops. The soils it grows in are largely composed of gravel and rocks eroded out of the granite making up the mountain.[7]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e NatureServe 2025.
- ^ a b c POWO 2025b.
- ^ a b Mathias 1930, p. 288.
- ^ a b Duft & Moseley 1989, p. 125.
- ^ POWO 2025a.
- ^ Beatty, Jennings & Rawlinson 2004, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Beatty, Jennings & Rawlinson 2004, p. 14.
Sources
- Books
- Duft, Joseph F.; Moseley, Robert K. (1989). Alpine Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press. ISBN 978-0-87842-238-8. OCLC 19325552. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- Journals
- Mathias, Mildred E. (September 1930). "Studies in the Umbelliferae. III. A Monograph of Cymopterus Including a Critical Study of Related Genera". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 17 (3/4): 213–476. doi:10.2307/2394264. ISSN 0026-6493. JSTOR 2394264. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- Reports
- Beatty, Brenda; Jennings, William; Rawlinson, Rebecca (13 August 2004). Oreoxis humilis Raf. (Rocky Mountain alpineparsley): A Technical Conservation Assessment (PDF) (Report). USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- Web sources
- NatureServe (3 October 2025). "Oreoxis humilis". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- POWO (2025). "Oreoxis Raf". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- POWO (2025). "Oreoxis humilis Raf". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 October 2025.