Microsteris

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Genus of flowering plants

title: "Microsteris" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["monotypic-ericales-genera", "polemoniaceae", "flora-of-mexico", "flora-of-western-canada", "flora-of-the-northwestern-united-states", "flora-of-the-southwestern-united-states", "flora-of-california", "flora-of-nebraska", "flora-of-south-dakota", "flora-of-southern-america", "flora-of-the-california-desert-regions", "flora-of-the-cascade-range", "flora-of-the-great-basin", "flora-of-the-klamath-mountains", "flora-of-the-sierra-nevada-(united-states)", "natural-history-of-the-california-chaparral-and-woodlands", "natural-history-of-the-california-coast-ranges", "natural-history-of-the-peninsular-ranges", "natural-history-of-the-transverse-ranges", "polemoniaceae-genera", "flora-without-expected-tnc-conservation-status", "plants-described-in-1829", "taxa-named-by-william-jackson-hooker"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsteris" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

|image = Microsteris_gracilis_1776.JPG |genus = Microsteris |parent_authority = Greene (1898) |species = gracilis |authority = (Hook.) Greene (1898) |subdivision_ranks = Varieties |subdivision =

  • Microsteris gracilis var. gracilis
  • Microsteris gracilis var. humilior (Hook.) Cronquist | subdivision_ref = |synonyms =
  • Myotoca Griseb. (1856)
  • Collomia gracilis (Hook.) Douglas ex Benth. (1834)
  • Gilia gracilis Hook. (1829)
  • Navarretia gracilis (Hook.) Kuntze (1891)
  • Phlox gracilis (Hook.) Greene (1887)
  • Polemonium morenonis Kuntze (1898) |synonyms_ref =

Microsteris is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the phlox family containing the single species Microsteris gracilis, known by the common name slender phlox.

The segregation of this species into a genus of its own is controversial, and many botanists continue to include the plant in genus Phlox. Genetic analysis is continuing.

Distribution

Microsteris gracilis is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to the American Midwest and West Coast, through Mexico, as well as parts of South America. It is native to all the diverse plant communities in California.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Microsteris_gracilis_3242f.JPG" caption="The flower has a tubular yellow throat encased in a tubular gladular-hairy calyx. Corolla lobes are just 1 to 2 mm long."] ::

Description

Microsteris gracilis is an annual herb which is variable in shape, taking a decumbent, branching, sometimes almost tuftlike form or growing erect and very slender. Its maximum height approaches 20 centimeters, but it may be much smaller.

The lance-shaped leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long and oppositely arranged except for the upper ones, which are alternate. The herbage is glandular and hairy in texture. The inflorescence at the top of the stem bears one or more small flowers.

The flower has a tubular throat around a centimeter long encased in a tubular calyx of sepals. The flat corolla has five flat-tipped or notched lobes just 1 or 2 millimeters long. The flower is white to bright pink with a yellowish throat.

References

References

  1. [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:160572-2 ''Microsteris gracilis'' (Hook.) Greene]. ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. Prather, L. A., C. J. Ferguson, and R. K. Jansen. (2000). [https://web.archive.org/web/20030728174541/http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/87/9/1300 Polemoniaceae phylogeny and classification: implications of sequence data from the chloroplast gene ''ndhF''.] ''American Journal of Botany'' 87 1300-08.
  3. Ferguson, C. J. and R. K. Jansen. (2002). [https://web.archive.org/web/20030801221716/http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/89/8/1324 A chloroplast DNA phylogeny of eastern ''Phlox'' (Polemoniaceae): implications of congruence and incongruence with the ITS phylogeny.] ''American Journal of Botany'' 89 1324-35.
  4. [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5654,5899,5907 Jepson eFlora: Distribution map for ''Microsteris gracilis'' in California]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

monotypic-ericales-generapolemoniaceaeflora-of-mexicoflora-of-western-canadaflora-of-the-northwestern-united-statesflora-of-the-southwestern-united-statesflora-of-californiaflora-of-nebraskaflora-of-south-dakotaflora-of-southern-americaflora-of-the-california-desert-regionsflora-of-the-cascade-rangeflora-of-the-great-basinflora-of-the-klamath-mountainsflora-of-the-sierra-nevada-(united-states)natural-history-of-the-california-chaparral-and-woodlandsnatural-history-of-the-california-coast-rangesnatural-history-of-the-peninsular-rangesnatural-history-of-the-transverse-rangespolemoniaceae-generaflora-without-expected-tnc-conservation-statusplants-described-in-1829taxa-named-by-william-jackson-hooker