Marah oregana (Torr. ex S. Watson) Howell
manroot
Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
manroot
Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Climbing perennial from an enlarged woody root; annual stems climbing or trailing with branched tendrils.
Leaves:
Stem leaves alternate, irregularly palmately lobed, stalked, bristly above, sparsely hairy below, heart-shaped at the base, about 20 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of bell-shaped flowers in a panicle; perianths bell-shaped, whitish, with 5 to 8 petals/sepals; male flowers in narrow-stalked clusters from the leaf axils; single female flowers short-stalked from the same axils as the male flowers; corolla lobes flaring, oblong egg-shaped.
Fruits:
Inflated, weakly spiny bladders, ellipsoid to oblong egg-shaped; seeds 1 or 2 in each locule, turgid, smooth.
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
Habitat and Range
Moist fields and open meadows and slopes in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, known only from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; S to N CA.Status Information
| Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | S1 | Red | E (Nov 2009) |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Marah oreganus (Torr. ex S. Watson) Howell