Alpine Pussypaws (Calyptridium umbellatum)

7/9/16 SR 108 (Sonora Pass Hwy.), 9,400' elevation, Stanislaus National Forest,

Sierra Nevada, Tuolumne County, CA

7/9/16 SR 108 (Sonora Pass Hwy.), 9,400' elevation, Stanislaus National Forest,

Sierra Nevada, Tuolumne County, CA

7/2/16 Horseshoe Meadow, 10,000' elevation, Lone Pine Region, Eastern Sierra,

Inyo National Forest, Inyo County, CA

 7/4/16 Rock Creek, Inyo National Forest, Eastern Sierra, Mono County, CA

 7/7/07 Meadow off Hwy 108W, left side of road just west of  Sonora Pass Historical Marker. Elevation 9,624', Sierra Nevada, Stanislaus National Forest, Mono County, CA

7/6/05 Inyo Craters Turnoff, Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop (Hwy 203). Eastern Sierras, Mono County, CA

7/9/07 Kay's Silver Lake Resort, Hwy 88E (Carson Pass Hwy), El Dorado National Forest, Sierra Nevada, Amador County, CA

8/17/03 Picnic area at Kings Creek, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Alpine Pussypaws

SPECIES: Calyptridium umbellatum

FAMILY: Montiaceae (Miner's Lettuce Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 8/17/2003

LOCATION: Kings Creek, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Perennial, < 6 dm; caudex short, thick; taproot slender to thick

Stems generally spreading to ascending, scapose

Leaves: basal rosettes generally 2+; leaf 1.5–7 cm

Inflorescence: umbel, generally compound, simple in small plants, 1–7 cm diam, terminal, generally 1 per rosette, dense; bracts subtending inflorescence < or = sepals, ± round; flowers subsessile to short-pedicelled, persistent in fruit

Flower: sepals 3–8 mm, ± round, clearly scarious; petals 4, 3–8 mm, white; stamens 3, yellow to red; style ± 1 mm, thread-like

Fruit 2–3 mm, widely elliptic to ± round

Seeds 1–8

Ecology: Open, sandy to rocky soils, coniferous forest, alpine

Elevation: 1500–4300 m (100–200 m in SnFrB).  

Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, High North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, sw San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Cruz Mtns), Great Basin Floristic Province 

Distribution outside California: to Montana, w Wyoming

Flowering time: May–Aug