Kalmiopsis
Ericaceae subfam. ericoideae
kalmiopsis
erect or trailing, (branching from base);
twigs (terete), puberulent and sparsely sessile- or stipitate-glandular, becoming glabrate, (older twigs without peglike projections).
erect to decumbent, sprawling, creeping, trailing, prostrate, or procumbent.
persistent, alternate;
petiole present;
blade coriaceous, margins entire; (buds with sessile glands).
deciduous or persistent, usually alternate, sometimes opposite, whorled, or spirally arranged;
petiole usually present;
blade plane or acicular, abaxial groove present or absent.
terminal, corymbiform racemes, 2–15-flowered;
perulae absent.
axillary or terminal, fascicles, racemes, panicles, capitula, cymes, umbels, corymbs, spikes, or solitary flowers;
perulae present or absent;
bracts much shorter than sepals (sometimes absent).
bisexual, radially symmetric;
sepals (persistent), 5, nearly distinct;
petals 5, connate ca. 1/3–1/2 their lengths, corolla deciduous, campanulate;
stamens 10, exserted;
anthers not awned, dehiscent by apical pores;
ovary 5-locular, (subglobose);
stigma capitate.
bisexual or unisexual, erect or pendulous, usually radially or bilaterally symmetric;
sepals (2-)4-5(-7);
petals absent or (2-)4-5(-7), connate or distinct, corolla deciduous or persistent, campanulate, salverform, rotate, saucer-shaped, funnelform, cylindric, or urceolate, (with pockets holding anthers until they open in some Kalmia), lobes shorter than tube;
intrastaminal nectary disc present;
stamens (2-)5-10;
anthers dehiscent by lateral pores or slits;
ovary (2-)5-10-locular;
placentation axile (parietal distally in Epigaea);
style straight or declinate (curved in Elliottia).
capsular, (5-valved), subglobose, dehiscence basipetally septicidal.
capsular, dehiscence usually septicidal, sometimes loculicidal or septifragal, or drupaceous, (dry to fleshy), indehiscent.
ca. 50–150, ovoid, not winged, not tailed;
testa reticulate.
2-300, distinct, obovoid, ovoid, or ellipsoid to oblong, linear, fusiform, or planoconvex, winged or not.
= 12.
Kalmiopsis
Ericaceae subfam. ericoideae
Species 2 (2 in the flora).
Kalmiopsis is the only vascular plant genus endemic to the state of Oregon; it is cultivated for its showy flowers. Although early tradesmen found Kalmiopsis a difficult subject for propagation, plants can be grown with perseverance and are today occasionally established in private and public gardens in the Pacific Northwest, Europe, and elsewhere. The plants are evidently long-lived and generally reproduce infrequently in nature. Flowers exhibit a pronounced stigma height polymorphism; further study is needed to assess its breeding system significance. Distyly is otherwise unknown in the Ericaceae, with the possible exception of Epigaea repens, a dioecious species that exhibits a continuum of long- and short-styled flowers yet lacks other evidence of heterostyly. The genus is the namesake for the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area, a remote region just east of the Pacific Ocean that is rich in endemic species and remarkable substrates.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera 18, species ca. 1850 (14 genera, 58 species in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Tufted, erect shrubs, 2-4(-8) dm; petals connate ca. 1/2 their lengths; filaments 3-7(-10) mm; corolla throat puberulent, inner surface of connate portion puberulent to glabrous; endemic to Siskiyou Mountains. | K. leachiana |
1. Loose, erect to trailing shrubs, usually to 12(-30) dm; petals connate ca. 1/3 their lengths; filaments 7-16 mm; corolla throat mostly glabrous, inner surface of connate portion with basal tufts of yellowish cilia; endemic to s Cascade Mountains. | K. fragrans |
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
