Oreocarya (perennial cat's-eye) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of subtribe of Amsinckiinae.
It was once thought to be a either a subgenus or synonym of Cryptantha ,Hong Qian and K. Klinka as they both had plenty of tiny flowers, hairy leaves, and persisting dried flower stems.
Botanist William Alfred Weber later noted that the 2 genera were different in form as Oreocarya was a "biennial or perennial from rosettes of basal leaves; flowers more than 5 mm in diameter, often distinctly long-tubular with prominent yellow eye", while Cryptantha was an "annual without rosettes of basal leaves; flowers minute, less than 5 mm diameter, short-tubed with inconspicuous eye".
Description They are perennial or biennial, plants.Edwin B. Payson Most species are perennials but a few (such as O. setosissima and O. virgata) are biennial. Species of Oreocarya have a taproot, with branching and a simple or branching caudex, which has a rosette of leaves at the top. From this the flowering stem rises. The herbaceous stem is various among the species, but generally the stems are foliate or bracteate, with branches bearing several helicoid cymes (as flowers). Most species have linear, spatulate (spoon shaped) or oblanceolate shaped leaves, with entire margins and a (leaf) blade that is gradually narrowed to a long, slender petiole. The flower (or inflorescence) is an open, rounded, leafy bracteate thyrsus or a helicoid shaped cyme.
Taxonomy The Latin specific epithet Oreocarya is derived from "Oreos" which is Greek for "mountain" and "caryum" is Greek for "nut".
It was first published by Edward Lee Greene in Pittonia vol.1 on page 57 in 1887.
In 1887, several species found in the genus Eritrichium were segregated out by Greene. Genus Allocarya was formed, then the genera Piptocalyx, Eremocarya and Oreocarya were formed. Oreocarya had nine former species from the genus Eritrichium. In 1896, Greene described 8 more species (of Oreocarya) and in 1899 he added 2 more species and then in 1901, he added another 2 species of Oreocarya to the genus. Other botanical authors (including Alice Eastwood and Per Axel Rydberg, added more species to the genus up until 1916. In 1916, Macbride carried out a revision of the genus (which had 45 species by then). Then in 1924, Ivan M. Johnston wrote that the genus of Oreocarya could be combined with Cryptantha. Payson in 1927 (A Monograph of the section Oreocarya of Cryptantha, Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 14:211-358) agreed with Johnston and all the species of Oreocarya became Cryptantha species. More species were found up until 1969 and also placed in the Cryptantha genus.
In 2012, the phylogenetic relationship of members of the genus Cryptantha was carried out, based on dna sequencing analyses, it was then proposed that the resurrection of the following genera Eremocarya, Greeneocharis, Johnstonella, and also Oreocarya. Weber and Wittman (2012) then placed all perennial species of Cryptantha back in the genus Oreocarya.Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp. Botanist John Kartesz from Missouri Botanical Garden Press agreed with the re-classification, as part of the Biota of North America Program (BONAP) in 2015.
Species There are 63 accepted species listed by Kew, and the Biota of North America Program.
Oreocarya abortiva Oreocarya aperta Oreocarya atwoodii Oreocarya bakeri Oreocarya barnebyi Oreocarya breviflora Oreocarya caespitosa Oreocarya cana Oreocarya capitata Oreocarya compacta Oreocarya confertiflora Oreocarya crassipes Oreocarya creutzfeldtii Oreocarya crymophila Oreocarya elata Oreocarya flava Oreocarya flavoculata Oreocarya fulvocanescens Oreocarya glomerata Oreocarya grahamii Oreocarya hoffmannii Oreocarya humilis Oreocarya hypsophila Oreocarya insolita Oreocarya interrupta Oreocarya johnstonii Oreocarya jonesiana Oreocarya leucophaea Oreocarya longiflora Oreocarya mensana Oreocarya nubigena Oreocarya oblata Oreocarya ochroleuca Oreocarya osterhoutii Oreocarya palmeri Oreocarya paradoxa Oreocarya paysonii Oreocarya propria Oreocarya revealii Oreocarya rollinsii Oreocarya roosiorum Oreocarya rugulosa Oreocarya salmonensis Oreocarya schoolcraftii Oreocarya semiglabra Oreocarya sericea Oreocarya setosissima Oreocarya shackletteana Oreocarya sobolifera Oreocarya spiculifera Oreocarya stricta Oreocarya subcapitata Oreocarya subretusa Oreocarya suffruticosa Oreocarya tenuis Oreocarya thompsonii Oreocarya thyrsiflora Oreocarya tumulosa Oreocarya virgata Oreocarya virginensis Oreocarya weberi Oreocarya welshii Oreocarya wetherillii
Distribution It is found in Canada (within the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan) in the United States (within the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) and also in northern Mexico. Most species are found in the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin of the U.S.
Ecology Most species grow in xerophytic habitats at middle elevations. Only a few species can tolerate growing in the shade of overhanging trees or shrubs. Some species grow in sandy deserts (O. jamesii), on alpine slopes (such as O. weberi, O. crymophile and O. thompsonii), O. virginensis, O. rugulosa and O. semiglabra can tolerate clay soils, but no species grows in moist and undrained soils.
References
Other sources Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora. Johnston, I. M. 1927. Studies in the Boraginaceae VI. A revision of the South American Boraginoideae. Contr. Gray Herb. 78:31.