western fairy-candelabra (western rockjasmine)
Primulaceae
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Plants annual, taprooted.
Leaves:
Leaves in a single basal rosette, lanceolate or oblanceolate to spatulate, entire to finely toothed, margins ciliate, surfaces puberulent with simple short hairs, 5-30 mm.
Flowers:
Inflorescences of 3-15 flowers; involucral bracts oblong to narrowly ovate, leaf-like, to 10 mm. Flowers long-stalked; corollas tubular, white, not exceeding the calyx, 1-2.5 mm wide; calyces broadly campanulate, not keeled, finely short-hairy, lobes narrowly ovate and equalling the tube, 3-5 mm; pedicels erect to spreading, unequal, much longer than the calyces, 3-30 mm. Flowering Apr-Jun.
Fruits:
Capsules globose or subglobose, about equalling the calyx, 5-valvate.
Stems:
Scapes 1-15 per plant, glabrescent to slightly hairy with branched hairs, 2-7 (10) cm tall.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014.
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
977 | 454 | 2210 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
15 | 2 | 40 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
193 | 90 | 288 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 3 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
12 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BG | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(10), ESSF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry sandy slopes, meadows, grasslands, open forests, and disturbed areas in the steppe, montane, and parkland zones. Infrequent in sc and se BC (north to Chilcotin, s Rocky Mtn. Trench), rare in ne BC (Peace River); east to ON, OH and south to CA, AZ, NM, TX.Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014.
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Androsace arizonica (A. Gray) Derganc
Androsace occidentalis var. arizonica (A. Gray) H. St. John
Androsace occidentalis var. simplex (Rydb.) H. St. John
Taxonomic Keys
Key to Androsace
1a. Plants perennial, mat-forming, from a branched caudex; leaves grey soft-hairy, in multiple rosettes; flowers 4-8 mm wide, white with a yellow throat; pedicels shorter than the calyces……………………….....…………………..…….A. chamaejasme 1b. Plants annual or biennial, not mat-forming, from a taproot; leaves glabrescent to hairy with straight hairs but not grey soft-hairy, in a single basal rosette; flowers 1-3 mm wide, white; pedicels much longer than the calyces…………………………...2 2a. Involucral bracts broadly lanceolate to oblong or ovate, leaf-like; corollas essentially included within the calyces; calyces not keeled; calyx lobes narrowly ovate, about equal to the tube………………...……….………….………...……..A. occidentalis 2b. Involucral bracts linear to lanceolate, not leaf-like; corollas slightly exceeding the calyces; calyces keeled; calyx lobes more or less triangular, shorter than the tube…………….………...……………………………………………..…A. septentrionalis
Source: Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft version February 2014 |
Taxonomic Notes
This is the only species of Androsace that is found only in North America. The flowers are quite inconspicuous, and it is easily overlooked when growing amongst taller vegetation.
Source: Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft version February 2014 |