Pussypaws

(Cistanthe monandra)

galery

Description

Cistanthe monandra is a fleshy, flat annual herb producing short stems which extend along the ground or spread upright from a small taproot. Thick, spoon-shaped leaves occur in a basal rosette at the base of the stem, reaching up to about 5 cm in length. There are smaller leaves along the stems.Small inflorescences sprout from the stem bearing many flowers, each with fleshy, triangular sepals and three pink or red petals only a few millimeters long. The fruit is a translucent, oblong capsule up to six millimeters long containing several shiny, black seeds.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Caryophyllales
Family:Montiaceae
Genus:Cistanthe
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