E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Meconella oregana Nutt.
white meconella (white fairypoppy)
Papaveraceae (Fumitory family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Meconella oregana
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems ascending to erect, solitary, few-branched, smooth, blue-green, 2-10 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves spoon-shaped, simple, 3-18 mm long including the 1-10 mm stalk, entire, blue-green; stem leaves opposite, lanceolate to linear, unstalked, 5-9 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary flowers on slender, erect, axillary or terminal stalks 2-4 cm long; petals usually 6, white, 2.5-4 mm long; sepals usually 3.

Fruits:
Capsules, linear, 10-22 mm long, slightly contorted.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Vernally moist rocky or grassy slopes in the lowland zone; rare on SE Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; S to CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Similar Species

There are no look-alikes; however, as the plants are usually so minute, the white flowers which are only open in favourable weather, are the only clue in detecting the species. Superficially, similar white flowers in the early season in the same habitats are Draba verna, Montia linearis, and other small Montia and Claytonia species.

Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S1S2	Red	E (May 2005)

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Meconella oregana var. denticulata (Greene) Jeps.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Papaveraceae
Flora North America treatment for Meconella oregana
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-11-24 12:06:18 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.