Kalmiopsis
Kalmiopsis fragrans
kalmiopsis
fragrant kalmiopsis, north Umpqua kalmiopsis, Umpqua kalmiopsis
erect or trailing, (branching from base);
twigs (terete), puberulent and sparsely sessile- or stipitate-glandular, becoming glabrate, (older twigs without peglike projections).
reddish to purplish, becoming gray to dark gray, puberulent and sparsely sessile-glandular, becoming glabrate.
persistent, alternate;
petiole present;
blade coriaceous, margins entire; (buds with sessile glands).
sweetly aromatic;
petiole 1–4 mm, sparsely puberulent, glandular;
blade rich, deep green abaxially, pale green adaxially, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, (5–)8–30(–45) × 4–10 mm, base ± cuneate, margins entire, plane, apex obtuse, apiculate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely sessile dotted-glandular abaxially, moderately covered with sessile crystalline-punctate glands adaxially.
terminal, corymbiform racemes, 2–15-flowered;
perulae absent.
erect, (2–)4–8(–12)-flowered;
bracts leaflike.
0.5–2.5(–3.3) cm, hairy, glandular.
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.
calyx lobes reddish pink to purple, ovate, 3–5 mm, margins ± glandular-ciliate;
corolla pale reddish purple to deep pink, 16–28(–33) mm diam., petal ridges connected within corolla lobes, connate ca. 1/3 their lengths, abaxial surface ± puberulent and glandular toward apex (throat mostly glabrous);
filaments 7–16 mm, with yellowish cilia densely tufted basally;
anthers purple, oblong, 0.7–1.8 mm;
style dimorphic, 11–15 mm (long form), 5–8 mm (short form);
ovary puberulent, dotted-glandular.
capsular, (5-valved), subglobose, dehiscence basipetally septicidal.
ca. 50–150, ovoid, not winged, not tailed;
testa reticulate.
0.3–0.7 mm.
= 12.
Kalmiopsis
Kalmiopsis fragrans
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.)
Of conservation concern.
In cultivation, Kalmiopsis fragrans has sometimes been sold or labeled as the “LePiniec” form of Kalmiopsis. In the wild, it has a narrower geographic range (restricted to Douglas County in the southern Cascade Mountains of Oregon) and is significantly rarer than K. leachiana.
(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
