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Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
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ERICACEAE

HEATH FAMILY

Gary D. Wallace, except as specified

Perennial, shrub, tree
Stem: bark often peeling distinctively
Leaves simple, generally cauline, alternate, opposite, rarely whorled, evergreen or deciduous, often leathery, petioled or not; stipules 0
Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, cyme, or flowers solitary, generally bracted; pedicels often with 2 bractlets
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial; sepals generally 4–5, generally free; petals generally 4–5, free or fused; stamens 8–10, free, filaments rarely appendaged, anthers awned or not, dehiscent by pores or slits; nectary generally at ovary base, disk-like; ovary superior or inferior, chambers generally 1–5, placentas axile or parietal, ovules 1–many per chamber, style 1, stigma head- to funnel-like or lobed
Fruit: capsule, drupe, berry
Seeds generally many, sometimes winged
Genera in family: ± 100 genera, 3000 species: generally worldwide except deserts; some cultivated, especially Arbutus, Arctostaphylos, Rhododendron, Vaccinium
Reference: [Wallace 1975 Wasmann J Biol 33:1–88; 1975 Bot Not 128:286–298]
Subfamilies Monotropoideae, Pyroloideae, Vaccinioideae sometimes treated as families. Nongreen plants obtain nutrition from green plants through fungal intermediates.

ALLOTROPA

SUGAR STICK


Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (Greek: different turned, from erect inflorescence)

Native

A. virgata A. Gray

Perennial, nongreen, rhizomed, glabrous; roots brittle
Stem 0
Leaf scale-like
Inflorescence raceme-like, < 5 dm, white with red or maroon stripes, emerging from soil erect, persistent after seed dispersal; bracts < 3 cm; bractlets 0; pedicels not recurved
Flower: sepals generally 0, rarely 2–4; corolla cup-shaped, white, petals 5, free, concave; stamens 10, exserted, anthers dehiscent by short separate slits, maroon; nectary disk-like, lobes 10, short; ovary superior, chambers 5, placentas axile, style < 2 mm, stigma disk-like
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal
Seeds many per chamber, fusiform
Chromosomes: 2n=26
Ecology: Oak, mixed, or coniferous forests
Elevation: 75–3000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Idaho, Montana
Reference: [Wallace 1975 Wasmann J Biol 33:1–88]
Petals incorrectly considered sepals by some.

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bioregional map for ALLOTROPA%20virgata being generated
 


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