Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Mountain Ninebark
Physocarpus monogynus
Rose family (Rosaceae)

This is a handsome shrub found in the Rockies from Montana through New Mexico. It is common on rocky slopes and in ravines, in Aspen forests, and in from the foothills to the zone. On the bases of its leaves, stems, and general shape, it could be confused with some Ribes (Currant) species, but the latter do not have peeling bark or star-burst hairs. The flowers of the two are quite different, as are the . "Physo carpus" means " ." "Mono gynus" means "one ."


©2007 Stan Shebs

Description

Shrubs to 6' tall with exfoliating bark. Leaves , deeply 3-to-5- with rounded on the edge, , on both sides. Flowers , in dense, showy clusters (). has star-burst hairs (use a hand lens to see). Petals white, to 1/4" long. , an , densely covered with hairs

Field Marks

Shrub with smooth, deeply cut, leaves and showy clusters of white flowers.

© Al Schneider

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

subalpine -- Just below the timberline.

perfect flower -- a bisexual flower, having both male and female parts.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

A pistil is the female structure of many flowers. It contains one or more carpels. Each carpel contins an ovary, style and stigma. The stigma receives the pollen which grows thru the style to reach the ovary.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

corymb -- a much-branched inflorescence with the lower flowers having long stems.

palmately lobed -- with lobes spread radially from a point.

inflated -- Swollen. Looks unusually large.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

A simple leaf blade is one that is not divided into separate leaflets.

stellate -- Star-like, as in hairs that have multiple branches and appear like a star-burst.