Potentilla basaltica

Potentilla basaltica is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names Soldier Meadows cinquefoil[1] and basalt cinquefoil.[2] It is endemic to a small area of the Modoc Plateau and Warner Mountains in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada.[3]

Potentilla basaltica
herbarium specimen

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Potentilla
Species:
P. basaltica
Binomial name
Potentilla basaltica
Tiehm & Ertter

Range and habitat

Potentilla basaltica occurs in Humboldt County, Nevada, and Lassen County, California, where there are a total of four occurrences. It grows in moist alkaline meadows near streams and springs.

Associates

Associated species include: Juncus balticus, Scirpus maritimus, Scirpus acutus, Triglochin maritima, Distichlis spicata, Sisyrinchium halophilum, Nitrophila occidentalis, Carex spp., Pyrrocoma racemosa, Solidago spectabilis, Sphaeromeria potentilloides, Astragalus argophyllus, Lotus purshianus, Ericameria nauseosa, and Sarcobatus vermiculatus.[3]

Growth pattern

Potentilla basaltica is a perennial herb grows from a thick taproot and has a base covered in the remnants of previous seasons' leaves. The stems are usually prostrate or decumbent, spreading along the ground, or occasionally growing upright.

Stems and leaves

Stems are up to 50 centimeters long and may be purple-tinged. Most of the leaves are located around the base of the plant. They are each divided into several pairs of leaflets. There are a few smaller leaves located along the stems.

Flowers

The flowers at the ends of the stems have bright yellow petals.[3][4]

Conservation

This rare species is a candidate for federal protection. The Bureau of Land Management has enacted conservation measures such as fencing populations to exclude grazing animals and closing roads in vulnerable habitat.[5] Current threats include changes in local hydrology and the invasion of noxious weeds, such as Lepidium latifolium. The populations are apparently stable for the time being.[3]

This species is a host for the fungus Phragmidium ivesiae.[5]

References
  1. "Potentilla basaltica". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, p. 167
  3. Potentilla basaltica. The Nature Conservancy.
  4. Tiehm, A. and B. Ertter. (1984). Potentilla basaltica (Rosaceae), a new species from Nevada. Brittonia 36(3) 228-31.
  5. Potentilla basaltica. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
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