Menzies' pipsissewa (little prince's pine)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
(Previously in Pyrolaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Michael Wigle (Photo ID #13684)
Species Information
General:
Perennial, slightly woody herb from a rhizome; stems slender, erect or nearly so, simple or sparingly branched, 5-20 cm tall, smooth, reddish.
Leaves:
Generally all stem leaves, 1 to several per whorl, leathery, evergreen, lanceolate to elliptic, 2-6 cm long, toothed or entire, smooth, main veins somewhat white-bordered; stalks 5-8 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 to 3 nodding flowers in terminal umbel-like cluster, flower stem more or less smooth to pimply; flower stalks 2-6 cm long; bracts widely egg-shaped, dry and translucent, usually persistent after flowering; petals 5, distinct, 5-7 mm long, white or pinkish, waxy, spreading, nearly circular, concave; sepals 5, distinct, rounded, margins jagged, about 5 mm long; ovaries superior; styles in depressed centre of ovary; stamens 10; filament bases widened and swollen, completely hairy.
Fruits:
Capsules, globe-shaped, 5 mm wide.
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) |
465 | 0 | 1348 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
31 | 0 | 100 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
212 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
416 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(400), ESSF(1), ICH(2), IDF(5), MH(7), SBS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry forests in the lowland and montane zones; infrequent in SW BC, rare in SE BC; S to CA.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
1. Flowers generally 1-3; stamen filaments hairy over entire swollen portion of base; leaves lanceolate to elliptic.......................C. menziesii
1. Flowers usually more than 3; stamen filaments hairy on margins only at the swollen portion of the base; leaves oblanceolate..................C. umbellata Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |