Scrophularia atrata
Encyclopedia
Scrophularia atrata is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the figwort family
known by the common names black-flowered figwort and darkflowered figwort. It is endemic to California
, where it is known only from a section of the Central Coast Ranges in San Luis Obispo
and Santa Barbara Counties
. It grows in the calcareous
and diatomaceous soils
of the coastal canyons at elevations not exceeding 500 meters. There have been 44 observed occurrences of this species, but perhaps 25 of these are historic and may no longer exist. This plant is a perennial herb producing an erect, four-sided stem up to a meter tall or slightly taller. It is somewhat hairy to densely woolly in texture. The leaves have toothed oval blades up to 10 centimeters long which are borne on long petioles
. The inflorescence
is a wide-open panicle
with several hairy, glandular branches bearing flowers. The flower has an urn-shaped
corolla with a rounded body and an open mouth at the top which is edged with hoodlike lobes. The corolla is deep, dark red to nearly black in color. The fruit is a capsule just under a centimeter long containing many seeds.
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
known by the common names black-flowered figwort and darkflowered figwort. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known only from a section of the Central Coast Ranges in San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
and Santa Barbara Counties
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
. It grows in the calcareous
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and diatomaceous soils
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to...
of the coastal canyons at elevations not exceeding 500 meters. There have been 44 observed occurrences of this species, but perhaps 25 of these are historic and may no longer exist. This plant is a perennial herb producing an erect, four-sided stem up to a meter tall or slightly taller. It is somewhat hairy to densely woolly in texture. The leaves have toothed oval blades up to 10 centimeters long which are borne on long petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. The 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...
is a wide-open panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
with several hairy, glandular branches bearing flowers. The flower has an urn-shaped
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
corolla with a rounded body and an open mouth at the top which is edged with hoodlike lobes. The corolla is deep, dark red to nearly black in color. The fruit is a capsule just under a centimeter long containing many seeds.