Chorizanthe
Encyclopedia
Chorizanthe is a genus of plants in the buckwheat family
known generally as spineflowers. These are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking inflorescence
s of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bract
s are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn
, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Spineflowers are found in western North America and South America.
Name derivation: The word Chorizanthe comes from the Greek roots chorizo and anthos meaning "to divide," and "flower," thus meaning "divided flowers," but actually used in reference to the divided calyx.
Selected species:
Polygonaceae
Polygonaceae is a family of flowering plants known informally as the "knotweed family" or "smartweed family"— "buckwheat family" in the United States. The name is based on the genus Polygonum and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 in his book, Genera Plantarum. The name refers...
known generally as spineflowers. These are small, squat, herbaceous plants with spiny-looking 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...
s of flowers. The flowers may be in shades of red or yellow to white. The bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s are pointed and sometimes tipped with a hooked awn
Awn
In botany, an awn is either a hair- or bristle-like appendage on a larger structure, or in the case of the Asteraceae, a stiff needle-like element of the pappus....
, and the inflorescence often dries into a rounded, spiny husk. Spineflowers are found in western North America and South America.
Name derivation: The word Chorizanthe comes from the Greek roots chorizo and anthos meaning "to divide," and "flower," thus meaning "divided flowers," but actually used in reference to the divided calyx.
Selected species:
- Chorizanthe angustifoliaChorizanthe angustifoliaChorizanthe angustifolia is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name narrowleaf spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the coastline of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, but is locally common...
- narrowleaf spineflower - Chorizanthe bilobaChorizanthe bilobaChorizanthe biloba is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name twolobe spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Central Coast Ranges. There are two varieties, both of which are uncommon to rare.C. b. var...
- twolobe spineflower - Chorizanthe blakleyiChorizanthe blakleyiChorizanthe blakleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Blakley's spineflower. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Santa Barbara County, California, where it is known from only eight occurrences, four of which are within the bounds of...
- Blakley's spineflower - Chorizanthe brevicornuChorizanthe brevicornuChorizanthe brevicornu is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family which is known by the common name brittle spineflower. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is widely distributed but is most abundant in the deserts.The plant extends an erect,...
- brittle spineflower - Chorizanthe breweriChorizanthe breweriChorizanthe breweri is a rare species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names San Luis Obispo spineflower and Brewer's spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known from about twenty occurrences in the Central Coast Ranges of San Luis Obispo and far...
- San Luis Obispo spineflower - Chorizanthe corrugataChorizanthe corrugataChorizanthe corrugata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name wrinkled spineflower. It is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico.-Description:...
- wrinkled spineflower - Chorizanthe cuspidataChorizanthe cuspidataChorizanthe cuspidata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name San Francisco spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the San Francisco Bay Area and to the immediate north and south...
- San Francisco spineflower - Chorizanthe diffusaChorizanthe diffusaChorizanthe diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name diffuse spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows on the coastline and mountains of the Central Coast, in sandy scrub, woodland, and forest habitat. It is erect to prostrate in form,...
- diffuse spineflower - Chorizanthe douglasiiChorizanthe douglasiiChorizanthe douglasii, San Benito spineflower, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Douglas' spineflower...
- San Benito spineflower - Chorizanthe fimbriataChorizanthe fimbriataChorizanthe fimbriata, is an annual plant in the Polygonaceae family, the buckwheats. It is a member of the genus Chorizanthe, the spineflowers, and is native to southern California and northern Baja California...
- fringed spineflower - Chorizanthe howelliiChorizanthe howelliiChorizanthe howellii is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names Mendocino spineflower and Howell's spineflower. It is endemic to coastal Mendocino County, California, where it is known only from the sand dunes and coastal scrub near Fort Bragg...
- Mendocino spineflower - Chorizanthe leptothecaChorizanthe leptothecaChorizanthe leptotheca is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names Ramona spineflower and Peninsular spineflower. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in chaparral and forest habitat...
- Ramona spineflower - Chorizanthe membranaceaChorizanthe membranaceaChorizanthe membranacea is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name pink spineflower. It is native to Oregon and California, where it is widespread and in some areas quite common. It can be found in a wide variety of habitats.This herb grows erect to a maximum...
- pink spineflower - Chorizanthe obovataChorizanthe obovataChorizanthe obovata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name spoonsepal spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the mountains of the Central Coast Range from Monterey to Santa Barbara Counties.Chorizanthe obovata grows in chaparral and...
- spoonsepal spineflower - Chorizanthe orcuttianaChorizanthe orcuttianaChorizanthe orcuttiana is a rare small annual plant in the buckwheat family. Its common name is San Diego spineflower, and it is endemic to San Diego County, California....
- San Diego spineflower - Chorizanthe palmeriChorizanthe palmeriChorizanthe palmeri is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Palmer's spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Central Coast Ranges of western Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties.It grows on mountain slopes of serpentine soils...
- Palmer's spineflower - Chorizanthe parryiChorizanthe parryiChorizanthe parryi is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name San Bernardino spineflower. It is endemic to southern California, where it is found in the San Bernardino Mountains and other ranges, the Colorado Desert, and along the coast, mainly in scrub plant...
- San Bernardino spineflower - Chorizanthe polygonoidesChorizanthe polygonoidesChorizanthe polygonoides is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name knotweed spineflower. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows widely scattered in many types of habitat. It is a petite plant taking a prostrate form with stems just a...
- knotweed spineflower - Chorizanthe procumbensChorizanthe procumbensChorizanthe procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name prostrate spineflower. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in scrub and chaparral habitat. It is variable in appearance, up to 25 centimeters long or much shorter,...
- prostrate spineflower - Chorizanthe pungensChorizanthe pungensChorizanthe pungens is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Monterey spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the San Francisco Bay Area south along the Central Coast.-Description:...
- Monterey spineflower - Chorizanthe rectispinaChorizanthe rectispinaChorizanthe rectispina is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names prickly spineflower and straight-awned spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known from about twenty occurrences from Monterey to Santa Barbara Counties...
- prickly spineflower - Chorizanthe rigidaChorizanthe rigidaChorizanthe rigida, with the common names of Devil's spineflower, Rigid spineflower, Spiny-herb, Rigid spiny-herb, is an annual plant in the Polygonaceae family the buckwheats...
- devil's spineflower, rigid spineflower - Chorizanthe robustaChorizanthe robustaChorizanthe robusta is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. It is endemic to California, where it is a rare, federally listed endangered species.-Description:...
- robust spineflower - Chorizanthe spinosaChorizanthe spinosaChorizanthe spinosa is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Mojave spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the scrub habitat at the western edges of the Mojave Desert....
- Mojave spineflower - Chorizanthe staticoidesChorizanthe staticoidesChorizanthe staticoides is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Turkish rugging. It is endemic to California, where it is a common member of the flora in the chaparral and scrub habitats in a number of regions....
- Turkish rugging - Chorizanthe stellulataChorizanthe stellulataChorizanthe stellulata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name starlet spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the dry woodlands of the low mountains and foothills along the central part of the state, such as the Sierra Nevada foothills....
- starlet spineflower - Chorizanthe uniaristataChorizanthe uniaristataChorizanthe uniaristata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name one-awn spineflower. It is endemic to central California, where it is known from several of the local mountain ranges, as well as the Central Coast.It grows in sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils...
- one-awned spineflower - Chorizanthe validaChorizanthe validaChorizanthe valida is a rare species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Sonoma spineflower. It is endemic to West Marin, Marin County, California, where it is known from only one remaining natural population at Point Reyes National Seashore...
- Sonoma spineflower - Chorizanthe watsoniiChorizanthe watsoniiChorizanthe watsonii is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name fivetooth spineflower. It is native to the western United States from Washington to the Mojave Desert. It grows in many types of plant communities from desert scrub to woodland and sagebrush. This...
- fivetooth spineflower - Chorizanthe wheeleriChorizanthe wheeleriChorizanthe wheeleri is a rare species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names Santa Barbara spineflower and Wheeler's spineflower...
- Santa Barbara spineflower - Chorizanthe xantiChorizanthe xantiChorizanthe xanti is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Riverside spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in several of the mountain ranges from the Sierra Nevada to the Southern California Transverse Ranges in forest, woodland, and scrub...
- Riverside spineflower