Harpagonella is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family. They are known as the grappling-hooks, because of the appearance and function of their fruits.[2] The strange fruits are two small nutlets enclosed in a burlike calyx, which is armed with numerous spines covered in minute, hooked barbs.[3] These diminutive, annual plants are found in sandy, clayey, and gravelly soils, and have small white flowers. This genus is native to North America, and is found in southern California, southern Arizona, northern Sonora, and the Baja California peninsula.[2][4]
| Harpagonella | |
|---|---|
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| The developing fruits of H. palmeri | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Harpagonella A.Gray (1876) |
| Species[1] | |
| |
The genus has been regarded as one of the most morphologically distinctive of the Amsinckiinae, largely because of their unusual fruits. The genus was formerly monotypic, but the plants native to Arizona have since been recognized as a distinct species.[5]
Species
edit- Harpagonella arizonica (syn. H. palmeri var. arizonica) – Commonly known as the Arizona grappling-hook.[4] Native to Arizona, northern Sonora, and southeastern Baja California. Type collected near Lowell, Arizona. Found on sandy or gravelly soils. Differs from H. palmeri in having significantly larger fruits.[5]
- Harpagonella palmeri – Commonly known as Palmer's grappling-hook[4] or stick-tight.[3] Native to southern California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. Type collected on Guadalupe Island, Baja California by Edward Palmer. Found on clayey soils.[5]
References
edit- ^ Harpagonella A.Gray. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Harpagonella". Systematics of Amsinckiinae (Boraginaceae): The popcorn flowers. Amsinckiinae Working Group. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b Armstrong, W.P. (1998). "Ultimate and Painful Hitchhikers". Wayne's Word. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Rebman, J. P.; Gibson, J.; Rich, K. (2016). "Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). San Diego Society of Natural History. 45: 84.
- ^ a b c Guilliams, C. Matt; Jang, Timothy; Baldwin, Bruce G. (2016-09-20). "Molecular and morphological evidence for recognition of two species within Harpagonella (Amsinckiinae, Boraginaceae)". PhytoKeys (70): 17–30. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.70.9053. ISSN 1314-2011. PMC 5088701. PMID 27829796.
External links
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