Neviusia cliftonii

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Rosales

Familia: Rosaceae
Subfamilia: Amygdaloideae
Tribus: Kerrieae
Genus: Neviusia
Species: N. cliftonii
Name

Neviusia cliftonii Shevock, Ertter & Taylor 1992

Type locality: Understory of mesic, north-facing, conifer-dominated forest on Hosselkus limestone, ~1,450 ft. elevation, along Highway 299 7.4 road mi. W of Round Mountain post office, ca. 25 mi. E of Interstate Highway 5, Shasta Co., California, United States. 5 May 1992.

References

Shevock, J.R., Ertter, B.J. & Taylor, D.W. 1992. Neviusia cliftonii (Rosaceae: Kerrieae), an Intriguing New Relict Species from California. Novon 24: 285–289.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Neviusia cliftonii in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 28-Oct-07.
Neviusia cliftonii Shevock, Ertter & Taylor – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
English: Shasta snow wreath

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 about 25 occurrences in the mountains around Lake Shasta.[2]

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.[3]
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 rarely a single white petal basal to the stamens, although the petals are often absent. The fruit type is a soft-bodied achene a few millimeters long [anatomically the fruit is an achenetum].

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.[4]
References

"NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
Shevock, J. R., B. Ertter, and D. W. Taylor. (1992). Neviusia cliftonii (Rosaceae: Kerrieae), an intriguing new relict species from California. Novon 2:4 285-89.
Nelson, J. K. Plant of the Week: Shasta Snow-wreath. USFS.