Rumex paucifolius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species:
R. paucifolius
Binomial name
Rumex paucifolius

Rumex paucifolius is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common name alpine sheep sorrel.[1]

It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist areas in mountainous habitat, up to areas of alpine climate.

Rumex gracilescens is a variant endemic to Turkey.[2][3] It was on the IUCN Species Survival Commissions 1997 Red List of Threatened Plants.[4]

Description

Rumex paucifolius is a variable plant, taking many different forms depending on environment and genetics; even the chromosome count is quite variable.[5] In addition, it easily hybridizes with other Rumex. In general, it is a perennial herb producing a cluster of slender, erect stems growing to roughly half a meter in maximum height.

Most of the leaves are basal. They are lance-shaped or linear and reach 9 centimeters in length.

The inflorescence is an erect or bending series of many clusters of flowers, some of them widely spaced. Most specimens are dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants. The flowers are usually red and hang from pedicels, with several flowers to a cluster.

References

  1. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rumex paucifolius". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Tan, Kit; Elias, Thomas S. (1989). The Davis & Hedge Festschrift, Commemorating the Seventieth Birthday of Peter Hadland Davis and the Sixtieth Birthday of Ian Charleson Hedge: Plant Taxonomy, Phytogeography, and Related Subjects. University Press. ISBN 978-0-85224-638-2.
  3. ↑ "Plants Profile for Rumex paucifolius gracilescens (alpine sheep sorrel)". Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  4. ↑ Walter, Kerry Scott; Gillett, Harriet J. (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-0328-2.
  5. ↑ Flora of North America


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