Oreocarya crassipes

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Cryptantha crassipes
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Oreocarya crassipes

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Oreocarya
Species:
O. crassipes
Binomial name
Oreocarya crassipes
(I.M.Johnst.) Hasenstab & M.G.Simpson
Synonyms[2]

Cryptantha crassipes I.M.Johnst.

Oreocarya crassipes is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Terlingua Creek cat's-eye. It is endemic to Brewster County, Texas, where it is known from only ten populations totaling about 5000 plants.[3] All of the occurrences are within a ten-kilometer radius.[1] This is a federally listed endangered species.

Description

This is a perennial herb producing several erect stems reaching a maximum height around 25 centimeters. There is a clump of basal leaves around the stem bases. The herbage is covered in silvery soft and bristly hairs. The inflorescence is a head of yellow-throated white flowers.[1] The plants are often coated in a sooty black fungus.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This plant grows only on the

lentil is a unique expanse of limestone rock which is rich in gypsum and bound with clay. The formation, which locals call a "moonscape",[4] is pale yellow in color because of its mineral makeup and about 50 feet thick.[5] The chalky rock breaks into plates and contains many fossils. The area is very dry and it receives full, hot sunlight.[3][1][6] The lentil is almost totally devoid of plant life; this species and other hardy plants, such as Castilleja elongata and Lycium berberioides, occur around the edge of the lentil.[3][1]

The rare plant is limited to a specific substrate. The area is affected by human activity in several ways. The land is all privately owned and unprotected. Off-road vehicles drive on the badlands, which are used both in the mining of bentonite and for access in the grazing of livestock in the area.[3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cryptantha crassipes. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. ^ "Oreocarya crassipes (I.M.Johnst.) Hasenstab & M.G.Simpson". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cryptantha crassipes. Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  4. ^ a b Cryptantha crassipes. Texas Parks and Wildlife.
  5. ^ USGS. Geologic Unit: Fizzle Flat. National Geologic Map Database.
  6. ^ USFWS. Final rule to list the plant Cryptantha crassipes (Terlingua Creek Cat's-eye) as endangered. Federal Register September 30, 1991.

External links

Further reading

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