Oreoxis
Genus of flowering plants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oreoxis, also known as alpine parsley, is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family. It includes two species native to subalpine regions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah in the west-central United States.
- Oreoxis bakeri J.M.Coult. & Rose – Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Utah
- Oreoxis humilis Raf. – central Colorado (Pikes Peak area)
| Oreoxis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Oreoxis humilis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Tribe: | Selineae |
| Genus: | Oreoxis Raf. |
| Species[1] | |
| |
Taxonomy
Oreoxis was given its scientific name in 1830 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque with one species, Oreoxis humilis.[1][2] The second accepted species was scientifically described and named Oreoxis bakeri in 1900 by John Merle Coulter and Joseph Nelson Rose in 1900.[3]
After studying the genus Cymopterus Marcus E. Jones proposed merging Orexis as a section in 1908.[4] However, other botanists such as Mildred E. Mathias retained it as an accepted genus in 1930.[5] The genus was also retained by Stanley Larson Welsh and his coauthors in their book Utah Flora published in 1987.[6] However, Arthur Cronquist and his collaborators on the Intermountain Flora Volume Three, Part A again proposed that it be included in Cymopterus in 1997.[7] Similarly Kenneth D. Heil and his coauthors choose to publish with Oreoxis listed as a synonym in 2013.[8] As of 2025[update] Oreoxis is considered an accepted genus according to Plants of the World Online and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service plants database.[1][9]
There are three other species previously placed in the genus:
- Oreoxis alpina (A.Gray) J.M.Coult. & Rose – 1900 synonym of Cymopterus alpinus.[10]
- Oreoxis macdougalii (J.M.Coult. & Rose) Rydb. – 1913 synonym of Cymopterus macdougalii[11]
- Oreoxis trotteri S.L.Welsh & Goodrich – 1985 synonym of Cymopterus trotteri[12]
Names
Oreoxis is known by the common name of alpine parsley and the genus name is also used as common name.[13][9]