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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE CAPER FAMILY | |||||||||
| The caper family has only a few representatives
in Saskatchewan but is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of
the world. The capers can be herbs, as are seen in Saskatchewan, or shrubs
or trees. The leaves are simple or compound and have stipules. The inflorescences
can be branched or unbranched, or the flowers may be solitary in the leaf
axils. The flowers are usually perfect with three to eight sepals and four
to 16 petals. There are four to many stamens and usually two carpels in
each flower. Flower colour varies from bright pink to purple to white. The
fruit can be a capsule, samara, schizocarp, nut, berry, or drupe. The caper family is closely related to the mustard family and contains some of the same chemical compounds. The capers are known for their strong scent. For example, Cleome species have been reported to smell like perm solution. Some of the fruits and leaves in this family can be eaten, though it is generally not without lengthy preparation. One well known example is the caper berry used in fine dining. |
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| LARGE CLAMMYWEED | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Polanisia dodecandra ssp. trachysperma | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Large clammyweed grows as tall as 80 cm from a taproot. This annual plant is branched and is sticky-hairy throughout. Large clammyweed has an undesirable smell. The alternate leaves have three stalked leaflets. The flowers are in unbranched, bracted clusters that elongate in fruit. The flowers are irregular in shape with green or purple sepals. The petals are 10 to 16 mm long and are yellowish white to pink. The 10 to 20 stamens are unequal in length and are much longer than the petals. There is usually an orange coloured gland between the petals and stamens. The capsule is 2 to 7 cm long and is covered in glandular hairs. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Large clammyweed grows in gravely or sandy eroded slopes and shores. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found across southern Saskatchewan from Maple Creek to the Qu’Appelle River Valley in the Mixed Grassland and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Large clammyweed is threatened because it is uncommon in the province. It is only somewhat regionally restricted but most local populations are small. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY LARGE CLAMMYWEED | |||||||||
| * Is the plant bad-smelling? * Are the stamens purple and longer than the yellowish white petals? * Is the plant sticky-hairy? * Did you find it in southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found large clammyweed! | |||||||||
