Frasera albomarginata
Encyclopedia
Frasera albomarginata is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family
known by the common name desert green gentian, or desert frasera. It is native to the southwestern United States from eastern California
to Colorado
and New Mexico
, where it grows in open, dry areas, such as desert woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing one or more stems up to 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are green with distinct white margins. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, up to 9 centimeters long by one wide. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and narrower and are borne in whorls or opposite pairs. The inflorescence
is an open panicle
of flowers at the top of the stem. Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes which are greenish white, darker green at the tips, with purple speckles. There are four stamen
s tipped with large anthers and a central ovary
.
Gentianaceae
Gentianaceae are a family of flowering plants of 87 genera and over 1500 species. Flowers are actinomorphic and bisexual with fused sepals and petals. The stamens are attached to the inside of the petals and alternate with the corolla lobes. There is a glandular disk at the base of the gynoecium,...
known by the common name desert green gentian, or desert frasera. It is native to the southwestern United States from eastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, where it grows in open, dry areas, such as desert woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing one or more stems up to 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are green with distinct white margins. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, up to 9 centimeters long by one wide. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and narrower and are borne in whorls or opposite pairs. The 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...
is an open panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of flowers at the top of the stem. Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes which are greenish white, darker green at the tips, with purple speckles. There are four stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s tipped with large anthers and a central ovary
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
.