Limnanthes douglasii

Limnanthes douglasii
Limnanthes douglasii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Limnanthaceae
Genus: Limnanthes
Species: L. douglasii
Binomial name
Limnanthes douglasii
R. Br.
Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea

Limnanthes douglasii is a species of annual flowering plant in the meadowfoam family commonly known as poached egg plant and Douglas' meadowfoam. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in wet, grassy habitat, such as vernal pools and spring meadows. It can grow in poorly drained clay soils. The plant was collected by the Scottish explorer and botanist David Douglas, who worked on the west coast of America in the 1820s.

The plant usually bears white flowers with yellow centers, hence the name "poached egg plant", but flower color can vary across subspecies. It is a popular ornamental plant. It attracts hoverflies to the garden to beat the aphids and is well loved by bees. It is self-seeding, and gardeners are often careful as to where the seeds fall as it will quite happily grow in a lawn.

There are four subspecies:

  • Limnanthes douglasii ssp. douglasii (R. Br.) is native to the coastal mountains and valleys of southwestern Oregon south to the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Limnanthes douglasii ssp. nivea (C.T. Mason), with mostly white flowers, grows in the coastal mountains of northern California
  • Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea (Hartw. ex Benth.), found in California's Central Valley and adjacent hills, often has pink veining on its petals
  • Limnanthes douglasii ssp. sulphurea (C.T. Mason) is a rare yellow-petaled subspecies endemic to the Bay Area

References

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