Pickeringia montana
Encyclopedia
Pickeringia is a monotypic genus containing only the legume
Pickeringia montana, which is known by the common name chaparral pea. It is sometimes called Montana chaparral pea, but this plant is endemic-found only in California.
It is one of very few legumes native to the chaparral
habitat. Its nitrogen-fixing
ability helps it thrive in rocky, sandy soil. The plant is also well-suited to a landscape of hills, slopes, and recently-burned areas; its roots spread quickly and help anchor loose soil, preventing erosion
.
flowers. It bears pods containing peas.
There are two subspecies of chaparral pea:
Genus Pickeringia was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering
.
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
Pickeringia montana, which is known by the common name chaparral pea. It is sometimes called Montana chaparral pea, but this plant is endemic-found only in California.
It is one of very few legumes native to the chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitat. Its nitrogen-fixing
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
ability helps it thrive in rocky, sandy soil. The plant is also well-suited to a landscape of hills, slopes, and recently-burned areas; its roots spread quickly and help anchor loose soil, preventing erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
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Description
The chaparral pea rarely sprouts from seed. More often it sends up new stems from roots growing outward from the mother plant. It forms low, dense, thorny thickets of shiny dark green leaves. In spring and summer the plant bursts into blossom, covering the thickets with bright magentaMagenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
flowers. It bears pods containing peas.
There are two subspecies of chaparral pea:
- Pickeringia montana subsp. montana is widespread in the state of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia 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...
. - Pickeringia montana subsp. tomentosa, sometimes called "woolly chaparral pea", is limited to the hills of southern California.
Genus Pickeringia was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering
Charles Pickering (naturalist)
Charles Pickering was an American naturalist.Born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, the grandson of Colonel Timothy Pickering, he grew up in Wenham, Massachusetts and received a medical degree from Harvard University in 1823...
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