Kingdom Plantae Genus Neviusia Rank Species | Family Rosaceae Scientific name Neviusia cliftonii Order Rosales | |
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Neviusia cliftonii is a rare species of shrub in the rose family which is known by the common name Shasta snow-wreath. It is endemic to Shasta County, California, where it is known from fewer than 20 occurrences in the mountains around Lake Shasta.
The shrub was not known to science until 1992, when it was discovered east of Redding, California, and described as a new species in Neviusia, previously a monotypic genus.
Description
Neviusia cliftonii is an erect deciduous shrub reaching 2.5 meters in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves are oval or heart shaped and lined with toothed lobes. The leaf blades reach 6 centimeters long and are borne on short petioles. The inflorescence is an umbel-like cluster of 3 to 5 flowers. The flower is a ball of about 50 long, whiskery white stamens each about half a centimeter long. There are sometimes white petals surrounding the stamens, although the petals are often absent. The fruit is a soft-bodied achene a few millimeters long.
When not in flower, the plant resembles common shrubs such as oceanspray and ninebark, one reason why it may have gone unrecognized for so long.