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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Meconella oregana
white meconella

 
Scientific Name: Meconella oregana Nutt.
English Name: white meconella
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vascular Plant
Species Code: MECOORE
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Plantae Anthophyta Dicotyledoneae Papaverales Papaveraceae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G2 (Mar 2020)
Provincial Status: S1S2 (Apr 2019)
BC List: Red
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status: Endangered (May 2005)
SARA Schedule: 1  -  Endangered (Aug 2006)
General Status Canada: 1 - At Risk (2010)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Technical Description:
Subspecies Comments: No subspecies described.
Identification Comments: Very slender, small annual, 1-10 cm tall at flowering time, with simple to few-branched, smooth stem. Basal rosette with 3-18 mm long, spoon-shaped leaves; stem leaves linear to lanceolate, unstalked, 5-9 mm long. Flowers terminal or axillary, each on a long, thin stalk. Elliptical petals usually 6, white, 2.5 - 4 mm long; sepals usually 3, shorter. Fruits are capsules which are linear, 8-20 mm long, very much like miniature Eschscholzia (California poppy) capsules, sitting on a small basal disc. The pale, bluish green color of the plant is characteristic.
Similar Species: There are no look-alikes; however, as the plants are usually so minute, the white flowers which are only open in favourable weather, are the only clue in detecting the species. Superficially, similar white flowers in the early season in the same habitats are Draba verna, Montia linearis, and other small Montia and Claytonia species.
Provincial Reproduction Comments: Seedset has been observed in the wild. However, there is no information on pollination biology, self-compatibility and dispersal. It is suspected that pollination may be by wind. Dispersal appears to be poor because the plants are observed to grow in very small, dense patches. Mechanisms of longer-range dispersal are unknown.
Provincial Ecology Comments: In British Columbia, Meconella oregana occurs within the distributional limits of Quercus garryana. However, this tree is not always present in the vicinity. In the open habitats described above the species is associated with a mixture of cryptogams, mostly mosses, and small vascular plants which are predominantly annuals. Due to its small size Meconella oregana is very susceptible to competition, especially from introduced grasses and weeds. Virtually nothing is known about interspecific interaction. Herbivory or seed predation has not been observed or reported in the literature.
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence) 		Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - frequent use
Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Garry Oak Coastal Bluffs / Facultative - frequent use
Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Facultative - frequent use
Global Habitat Comments: This is a species of open ground at low elevations, usually in places that are wet in the spring, including Coastal Prairie and Coastal Scrub. Associated species include Narcissus Shooting Star (Dodecatheon poeticum), Bulbiferous Fringecup (Lithophragma bulbifera), and Grass-widows (Sisyrinchium douglasii).
Provincial Habitat Comments: Note Palustrine: 'temporary pool' was selected for habitat in the list provided, since it was the only available choice, whereas 'seepage' is more appropriate.
In British Columbia, Meconella oregana occurs mainly on open, south-facing slopes of rocky hillsides. Soils are extremely shallow, sometimes to the extent that they support fewer vascular plants than bryophytes. Sites occurr on volcanic, metamorphic and sedimentary (conglomerate) bedrock types. Nearly all stands of Meconella were found on or adjacent to early-season seepage sites. However, plants were observed to do poorly without adequate drainage. Its habit of growing close to seepage sites may be related to survival strategy for exceptionally dry years. Sites were either fully exposed to the sun or, rarely, in dappled shade of Quercus garryana or deciduous shrubs. Based on 17 stands of Meconella, the ten most frequently associated vascular plants were Aira praecox, Aphanes occidentalis, Saxifraga integrifolia, Triteleia hyacinthina, Bromus hordeaceus, Selaginella wallacei, Silene gallica, Brodiaea coronaria, Montia fontana and Cynosurus echinatus. The most frequent bryophytes were Racomitrium canescens and Bryum miniatum. The latter often had the highest cover in the community.
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)		 Feb: Vegetative, Germinating / Vegetative, Germinating
Mar: Vegetative, Germinating, Flowering / Vegetative, Germinating, Flowering, Fruiting
Apr: Flowering, Fruiting / Fruiting
May: Fruiting /
Provincial Phenology Comments: In the wild, plants were never observed other than at flowering time and in the early fruiting stage since these minute and slender annuals are virtually undetectable without flowers. Flowering in the BC populations takes place between early March and late April, depending on elevation. Fruiting occurs immediately following as the habitats often dry out completely within two weeks when rain ceases and the temperatures rise. Seeds planted experimentally in September germinated in October in two cases. However, a search of the natural habitat in December and after an exceptionally moist fall was unable to detect seedlings, despite precise relocation of patches that were known to have flowered and set seed the preceding summer. The presumption is, therefore, that germination in the wild occurs in February/March.
Elevation (m) (min / max): Provincial:  15 / 300
Known Pests:
Pollen Vector:
Pollinator:
Dispersal:
   
 
Provincial Inventory
Inventory Priority: B - Strong
Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): Mixed private/government
Inventory Need: [Qualification for EO ownership summary: "Mostly private" applies when considering the total subnational population size (84% private). "Mixed private/government" would be correct when considering the number of EOs.] First priority for further inventory are locations that had populations confirmed in the last 15 years, but not in the 2004 surveys (Roemer 2004). This would apply to the following locations: Jocelyn Hill, Mt. Sutil (Galiano Island), and Mt. Tzuhalem. Second priority are locations for which older records exist, and third priority are any other sites where largely undisturbed, suitable habitat can be found elsewhere.
Inventory Comments: A very short window of time is available for detection of this species, near sea level usually, around mid-March and at higher elevations as late as mid-April, depending on weather. The plants cannot be found either before or after flowering, unless the exact locality is known within one or two meters. Even at flowering time, the flowers close in the evening and during poor weather to form minute white balls, too small to see from any distance. Open flowers are much more conspicuous.
 
Economic Attributes
Provincial Economic Comments: No economic use is known. Due to minute size, it is very unlikely there is any.
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Meconella oregana occurs from southern British Columbia in Canada south to the Bay Area of California in the United States. There are population centers in Victoria to Nanaimo, in the Gulf Islands, and in Port Alberni in British Columbia, the lowlands west of the Cascades in Washington, the Columbia River Gorge of Washington and Oregon, the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and several location in the Bay Area of California (COSEWIC 2005).
Disjunct, more common elsewhere: N
Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: Y
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Treher (2020)
Last Updated: Mar 31, 2020
Provincial Information Author: Roemer, H.
Last Updated: Jan 15, 2005
Last Literature Search:
   
References and Related Literature
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC.
COSEWIC. 2005f. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the white meconella Meconella oregana in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 25 pp.
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp.
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 1999. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 4, Dicotyledons (Orobanchaceae through Rubiaceae). B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Minist. For., Victoria. 427pp.
Hannon, G.L. 1997. Meconella, in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North American Online. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. Vol. 3.
Hitchcock, C.L., and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington. 730 pp.
Lea, E. 2002. Historical Garry Oak ecosystems of Greater Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula. 1:20,000 scale maps. Prepared for Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team by Terrestrial Inf. Branch, B.C. Minist. Sustainable Resour. Manage., Victoria.
Peck, M.E. 1961. A manual of the higher plants of Oregon. 2nd edition. Binsford & Mort, Portland, Oregon. 936 pp.
Penny J., R. Avis, L. Avis, and H. Roemer. 2004. Field Survey to Cherry Creek Road, Port Alberni of April 2nd, 2004
Roemer, H. 2004. COSEWIC status report on white meconella, Meconella oregana, in Canada. Prepared for the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada. Sept. 2004. 28pp.
Roemer, H. and C. Maslovat. 2004. Species Stewardship Account for White Meconella (Meconella oregana). Prepared for the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team. Sponsored by the Habitat Stewardship Program, Victoria, BC. 18pp.
Washington Natural Heritage Program. 1981. An illustrated guide to the endangered, threatened and sensitive vascular plants of Washington. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Olympia. 328 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2020. Species Summary: Meconella oregana. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 4, 2026).