About Vancouveria chrysantha Greene
Vancouveria chrysantha is a rhizomatous perennial herb with a short, mostly underground stem. It forms a patch of basal leaves; each leaf is composed of round, shallowly lobed leaflets that grow on long, reddish petioles. The inflorescence emerges from spring to early summer. It forms a raceme of flowers growing on a long, erect peduncle that has hairy, glandular branches. Each drooping flower has six inner sepals that resemble petals. These sepals are bright yellow, up to one centimeter long, and reflexed back or upward away from the center of the flower. Smaller true petals, which are also bright yellow, curled and hood-like, lie against these sepals. Each flower also holds six stamens and a large glandular ovary. This plant is native to northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is found in the Klamath Mountains at elevations below 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), and grows in dry mountain habitats including chaparral and forests, often on serpentine soils.
