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| Downingia laeta (Greene) Greene | Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| TAXONOMY | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Campanulaceae | ||||||||||||||
| Genus: | Downingia | ||||||||||||||
| Species Synonyms: | none | ||||||||||||||
| Common Names: | calico-flower Great Basin calicoflower Great Basin downingia bright downingia |
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| DISTRIBUTION | |||||||||||||||
| Canada: | southeastern Alberta - southwestern Saskatchewan | ||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills, Great Sand Hills - Rosetown | ||||||||||||||
| Ecoregion: | Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland | ||||||||||||||
| HABITAT | |||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | alkaline or saline mudflats, roadsides and cultivated field depressions | ||||||||||||||
| Associated Species: | Alisma gramineum, Argentina anserina, Elatine triandra, Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis engelmanii, Eleocharis palustris, Limosella aquatica, Rorippa sinuata, Rumex maritimus, Rumex stenophyllus | ||||||||||||||
| RARITY STATUS | |||||||||||||||
| Provincial
Status According to Harms (2003): |
Threatened |
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| Nature Conservancy Status: | G5 S1S2 |
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| Saskatchewan
Species at Risk Status: |
None |
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| COSEWIC Status: | None |
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| Downingia laeta is threatened because it is rare in the province and is regionally restricted to two general regions of the province. This species is usually locally numerous within limited areas. | |||||||||||||||
| SPECIES DESCRIPTION | |||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 – 15 cm | ||||||||||||||
| Roots: | fibrous | ||||||||||||||
| Stems: | annual, often decumbent, branched, glabrous, sometimes rooting at nodes | ||||||||||||||
| Leaves: | cauline, alternate, sessile, 7 – 12 mm long, 2 – 4 mm wide, oblong to elliptic, deciduous | ||||||||||||||
| Inflorescence: | flowers sessile in axils of upper leaves or bracts | ||||||||||||||
| Flowers: | calyx foliaceous, nearly distinct; corolla zygomorphic, 5-parted (2 lobes above, 3 below), not split, 4 – 7 mm long, not longer than calyx, white to pale blue or violet with darker blue veins, whitish throat spotted with yellow; anthers and filaments united to form cylinder around style, epipetalous, 2 anthers bristle-tipped; ovary inferior, 1 – 2 cm long, looks like fattened petiole | ||||||||||||||
| Fruits: | capsule pod-like, 1-loculed | ||||||||||||||
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