Lewisia leeana (orth. var. L. leana) is a species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae known by the common name quill-leaf lewisia. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Ranges. This is a perennial herb growing from narrow, woody taproot connected to one or more caudices. It produces a basal rosette of many fleshy flat to cylindrical blunt-tipped leaves up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears many flowers on erect, branching stems up to about 24 centimeters tall. Each flower has 5 to 8 white, pink, or purplish petals each about half a centimeter long. This plant is named for Lambert Wilmer Lee, who collected it in the Siskiyou Mountains just south of the Oregon border in 1876. It commonly hybridizes with Lewisia cotyledon in the wild, producing Lewisia x whiteae.
Botanical profile.
- Plant Type
- Herb
- Life Cycle
- Perennial
- Genus
- Lewisia
- Family
- Montiaceae
- Hardiness Zone
- 5-8
- Mature Height
- 5 cm to 15 cm
- Mature Spread
- 10 cm to 20 cm
- Leaf Color
- Green, Dark Green
- Leaf Type
- Deciduous
- Flower Color
- Pink, White
- Flower Size
- 2.03 cm to 3.05 cm
- Bloom Time
- Mid spring, Late spring, Early summer
- Planting Time
- Spring, Summer
- Harvest Time
- Summer
Other names.
