{"id":6801,"date":"2021-10-26T02:21:11","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T02:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/?page_id=6801"},"modified":"2024-04-20T21:28:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T21:28:06","slug":"western-false-asphodel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/?page_id=6801","title":{"rendered":"Western False Asphodel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rare Plant Profile \u2013 Western False Asphodel (Triantha occidentalis (S. Wats.) Gates) [1]<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis<\/em> (S. Wats.) Gates) is a perennial herb in the Tofieldiaceae Family (previously in Liliaceae [2]). There are two subspecies recognized in Alberta: brevistyla<\/em> (short-style sticky Tofieldia) and montana (<\/em>mountain Tofieldia) [3]. <\/em>This plant grows from underground rhizomes [4] and is either leafless or has 1-3 leaves near the base [5]. Flowers are white or greenish, 3-7 mm long, with 3 petals and 3 slightly shorter and wider sepals [6].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This carnivorous plant has a unique feature of trapping small insects near its insect-pollinated flowers [7]. Flower stems are coated with sticky hairs that produce a digestive enzyme known as phosphatase, which digests the small insects [8]. The hairs can catch midges and gnats but are not sticky enough to capture larger insects like bees and butterflies that pollinate the flowers [9].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Canada, western false asphodel is found in wet meadows, marshes, fens, and bogs, as well as along streambanks in British Columbia and Alberta [2]. While its conservation status rank in British Columbia is S5, or Secure<\/em>, its conservation status rank in Alberta is S1, or Critically Imperiled <\/em>[10]. This is due to its low number of occurrences, it is likely at the edge of its range, and its montane habitat is under threat from development activities [11].<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Steve Matson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by Steve Matson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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[1] https:\/\/explorer.natureserve.org\/Taxon\/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.639287\/Triantha_occidentalis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] https:\/\/linnet.geog.ubc.ca\/Atlas\/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Triantha%20occidentalis&redblue=Both&lifeform=7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]List of Elements \u2013 Vascular Plants. Available at: https:\/\/www.albertaparks.ca\/albertaparksca\/management-land-use\/alberta-conservation-information-management-system-acims\/download-data\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Kershaw, L.; Gould, J.; Johnson, D.; Lancaster, J. 2001. Rare vascular plants of Alberta. Univ. Alberta Press, Edmonton, Alberta and Nat. Resour. Can., Can. For. Serv., North. For. Cent., Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] http:\/\/www.sci-news.com\/biology\/carnivorous-triantha-occidentalis-09947.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8] https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Triantha_occidentalis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9] http:\/\/www.sci-news.com\/biology\/carnivorous-triantha-occidentalis-09947.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10] https:\/\/explorer.natureserve.org\/Taxon\/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.639287\/Triantha_occidentalis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11] https:\/\/albertawilderness.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/20050000_rp_alberta_species_status.pdf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rare Plant Profile \u2013 Western False Asphodel (Triantha occidentalis (S. Wats.) Gates) [1] Western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis (S. Wats.) Gates) is a perennial herb in the Tofieldiaceae Family (previously in Liliaceae [2]). There are two subspecies recognized in Alberta: brevistyla (short-style sticky Tofieldia) and montana (mountain Tofieldia) [3]. This plant grows from underground rhizomes [4] and is either leafless […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":10095,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6801","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6801"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10952,"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6801\/revisions\/10952"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anpc.ab.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}