Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Lewisia maguirei

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Kingdom
  
Plantae

Family
  
Portulacaceae

Rank
  
Species

Order
  
Caryophyllales

Genus
  
Lewisia

Similar
  
Lewisia kelloggii, Lewisia congdonii, Lewisia cantelovii, Lewisia triphylla, Lewisia sacajaweana

Lewisia maguirei is a rare species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Maguire's lewisia, or Maguire's bitterroot. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from eastern Nye County.

This is a perennial herb growing at ground level, the stem no more than 2 centimeters long. It grows from a taproot. The fleshy lance-shaped leaves are 1 or 2 centimeters long but wither by flowering. The inflorescence contains 2 or 3 flowers. Each flower has 3 or 4 wide white or pinkish sepals and up to 9 white or pink-tinged petals each roughly a centimeter long. Blooming occurs in summer.

It grows on rocky clay and limestone slopes in open pinyon-juniper woodland at elevations around 2240 to 2525 meters. Other plants in the habitat include desert green gentian (Frasera albomarginata), Torrey's milkvetch (Astragalus calycosus), stemless four-nerved daisy (Tetraneuris acaulis), Nevada onion (Allium nevadense), and rock goldenrod (Petradoria pumila).

There are only 8 known occurrences of this plant, all within an eight-kilometer radius. It is threatened by poaching, as it is attractive to collectors of alpine plants. Its rugged, high-elevation habitat helps to protect it from other threats.

References

Lewisia maguirei Wikipedia