Shasta popcornflower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shasta popcornflower |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Plagiobothrys
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| Species: |
shastensis
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The Plagiobothrys shastensis, also known as the Shasta popcornflower, is a special kind of flowering plant. It belongs to the borage family. This plant is not very common.
It gets its name, "popcornflower," because its tiny white flowers can look a bit like popcorn. This plant is an annual herb, which means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year.
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What is the Shasta Popcornflower?
The Shasta popcornflower is a small plant that grows upright. It can reach a height of about 30 centimeters, which is roughly the length of a school ruler. The entire plant is covered in tiny hairs.
Where Does It Grow?
This unique plant is native to two specific areas in the United States. You can find it in southern Oregon and northern California. It likes to grow in different places. These include open grasslands, woodlands, and other natural habitats.
How Does It Look?
The Shasta popcornflower has several interesting features. Its leaves, flowers, and fruit all have unique shapes and sizes.
Its Leaves and Stem
Most of the plant's leaves grow in a circle close to the ground. This is called a basal rosette. A few other leaves are spaced out along the main stem. They grow in an alternating pattern.
Its Tiny Flowers
The plant's flowers grow on a straight branch. Unlike some other popcornflowers, this branch usually doesn't curl at the tip. Each branch holds flowers in pairs. The flowers themselves are very small and white. They have five tiny lobes, like petals, and are only about 3 millimeters wide. That's smaller than a pencil eraser!
Its Unique Fruit
After the flowers bloom, they turn into fruit. The fruit of the Shasta popcornflower is a small nutlet. It is shaped like a cross and is only 2 or 3 millimeters wide. This tiny fruit is divided in half by a rough scar. Inside, it holds the seeds for the next generation of plants.
How Does It Grow?
As an annual herb, the Shasta popcornflower completes its entire life cycle in one year. It sprouts from a seed, grows its stem and leaves, and then produces its distinctive flowers. These flowers are then pollinated, which leads to the formation of the cross-shaped nutlets. These nutlets contain new seeds. Once the seeds are mature, the plant dies, and the cycle begins again with the new seeds.
