Polemonium eximium
Encyclopedia
Polemonium eximium is a species of flowering plant in the genus which includes the Jacob's Ladders
. Its common name is skypilot. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California where it grows in the talus
of the high mountain slopes. It occurs at elevations between 3000 and 4200 meters where few other plants grow.
is a headlike cluster of several flowers. Each flower has a tubular calyx of hairy sepal
s and a funnel-shaped corolla in shades of pale to bright or deep blue with a whitish throat. The flowers are at full bloom for approximately one day in the very short period of appropriate flowering conditions. The plant has a strong scent reminiscent of urine
which attracts pollinator
s to its short-lived flowers.
Polemonium
Polemonium, commonly called Jacob's ladder, is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Polemoniaceae, native to cool temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and also in the southern Andes in South America...
. Its common name is skypilot. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California where it grows in the talus
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
of the high mountain slopes. It occurs at elevations between 3000 and 4200 meters where few other plants grow.
Description
This perennial herb forms clumps of erect stems approaching 40 centimeters in maximum height. Surrounding the stems are nearly cylindrical leaves each made up of many leaflets, the leaflets subdivided into lobes. The herbage is hairy and glandular in texture. The showy inflorescenceInflorescence
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...
is a headlike cluster of several flowers. Each flower has a tubular calyx of hairy sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and a funnel-shaped corolla in shades of pale to bright or deep blue with a whitish throat. The flowers are at full bloom for approximately one day in the very short period of appropriate flowering conditions. The plant has a strong scent reminiscent of urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
which attracts pollinator
Pollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
s to its short-lived flowers.