Jepsonia malvifolia
Encyclopedia
Jepsonia malvifolia is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family
known by the common name island jepsonia. It is found only on the Channel Islands of California
and Guadalupe Island
off Baja California
. It grows in exposed rock and clay soils on the chaparral
and scrub slopes of the islands. This is a small perennial herb producing two or three leaves from a flat caudex
. The green leaves are round or kidney-shaped and edged with ruffled lobes. The plant flowers in fall, producing an inflorescence
on a tall peduncle
. The tiny flowers have red-veined white, yellowish, or pinkish petals. The fruit is a tan-striped greenish capsule.
Saxifragaceae
Saxifragaceae is a plant family with about 460 known species in 36 genera. In Europe there are 12 genera.The flowers are hermaphroditic and actinomorphic...
known by the common name island jepsonia. It is found only on the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
and Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...
off Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. It grows in exposed rock and clay soils on the chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and scrub slopes of the islands. This is a small perennial herb producing two or three leaves from a flat caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
. The green leaves are round or kidney-shaped and edged with ruffled lobes. The plant flowers in fall, producing an inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
on a tall peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
. The tiny flowers have red-veined white, yellowish, or pinkish petals. The fruit is a tan-striped greenish capsule.