Hydrophyllum capitatum
{{Short description|Plant species in the borage family}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Hydrophyllum capitatum 3229.JPG
| image_alt = A plant with four, fuzzy compound leaves with leaflets attached on opposite sides of the thick leaf vein. The plant as a white, globe shaped flowering head with many fine stamens sticking out in all directions from the many flowers, a second flowering head has fallen on the ground behind one of the leaves. The plant is short with redish stems, fuzzy like the leaves.
| image_caption = Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii (Tom McCall Preserve, Oregon)
| status = {{TNCStatus}}
| status_system = TNC
| genus = Hydrophyllum
| species = capitatum
| authority = Douglas ex Benth.
| subdivision_ranks = Varieties
| subdivision_ref = {{cite POWO |id=432258-1 |title=Hydrophyllum capitatum Douglas ex Benth. |access-date=28 February 2025}}
| subdivision = {{Species list
| H. capitatum var. capitatum |
| H. capitatum var. thompsonii |
}}
}}
Hydrophyllum capitatum, is a species of waterleaf known by the common name ballhead waterleaf. It is native to Western North America from British Columbia to Utah.
Description
Individuals of this species are {{Convert|10–40|cm|sp=us|frac=2}} tall, hairy, erect herbs with solitary or few stems that are attached to fibrous roots running {{Convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}} deep. The leaves are green and alternately arranged into 7 to 11 pinnately divided entire leaflets. The blades of the leaves are about 10 cm wide and 15 cm long. The flowers feature partial dichotomous branching and lay closer to the ground below the leaves (Hydrophyllum capitatum var. capitatum). However, a dwarf form of this plant occurs in northern Oregon and southern Washington where the flower heads are on long stalks above the leaves (Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii).
Flowers of Hydrophyllum capitatum, has whitish to purplish blue-coiled 5 to 9 cm bell-shaped corollas. Each flower also has 5 hairy calyx lobes. There are 5 long stamens per flower with anthers 0.6 to 1.3 millimeters long. The flowers bloom from March to July and obtain their purple color during this season. The fruit of the ballhead waterleaf are capsules with 1 to 3 seeds each.
{{gallery|mode=packed
|File:Hydrophyllum capitatum 3232.JPG|The white to blue flowers, borne in a tight spherical cluster, have five hairy calyx lobes and five exerted stamens.
|File:Hydrophyllum_capitatum_1794.JPG|Hydrophyllum capitatum var. capitatum (Wenas Wildlife Area, Washington)
|File:Hydrophyllum capitatum in Ochoco National Forest 2.jpg|Hydrophyllum capitatum var. alpinum (Ochoco National Forest, Oregon)
}}
Distribution and habitat
Hydrophyllum capitatum naturally occurs in Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, as well as the western region of the United States (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming).
Hydrophyllum capitatum grows in areas that are rather barren and dry (though seasonally moist) to shady environments in fine or medium textured soil. This plant tends to grow in open woodlands and slopes, ranging from high plains to subalpine meadows.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25708726|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=170|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}} It is salinity intolerant and lives in an environment that ranges in pH from 6.4 to 7.8. The ballhead waterleaf is a perennial plant adapted to a precipitation zone that ranges from 16 to 30 inches/yr and a minimum temperature of -28 Fahrenheit.
Uses
References
{{Reflist |refs=
{{cite web|last=Tuason |first=Thayne |title=CWNP Plant Gallery
|url=http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/hdoc/hycapitatum.html |accessdate=7 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928072734/http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/hdoc/hycapitatum.html |archivedate=28 September 2011 }} }}
{{Commons}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5955310}}