Pterospora andromedea
Nutt. · speciesAt a glance
Sources11 archives
Databases and archives Pterospora andromedea's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation7 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility13 373 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics16 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Pterospora, commonly known as pinedrops, woodland pinedrops, Albany beechdrops, or giant bird's nest is a North American genus in the subfamily Monotropoideae of the heath family, and includes only the species Pterospora andromedea.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map It grows in coniferous or mixed forests. It is widespread across much of Canada as well as the western and northeastern United States to and northern Mexico (Sonora, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León and Baja California).SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter Along with Monotropa it is one of the more frequently encountered genera of the Monotropoideae.Flora of North America, Pterospora Nuttall, 1818. The fruits are five-celled woody capsules (Wenatchee Mountains, Washington). The genus name is derived from the morphology of the seeds which have narrow flaps of tissue on the side and therefore appear winged: pteron (Gr.) = wing, spora (Gr.) = seed. The specific name andromedea derives from the resemblance of the flowers to those of another genus in the Ericaceae, Andromeda. The visible portion of Pterospora andromedea is a fleshy, unbranched, reddish to yellowish flower spike (raceme) 30 – in height, though it has been reported to occasionally attain a height of 2 m. The above-ground stalks (inflorescences) are usually found in small clusters between June and August. The inflorescences are hairy and noticeably sticky to the touch. This is caused by the presence of hairs which exude a sticky substance (glandular hairs). The inflorescences are covered by scale-like structures known as bracts. The upper portion of the inflorescence has a series of yellowish, urn-shaped flowers that face downward. The fruit is a capsule. Plants exist for most of their life as a mass of brittle, but fleshy, roots. Pterospora has consistently been shown to be more closely related to Sarcodes than any other member of the Monotropoideae.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology3
Life cycle & reproduction3
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment6
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Pterospora andromedea has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Pterospora andromedea carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 161×CCDB · book-fedorov
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · family-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type13 373 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions82 of 116 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Claremont, US | 83 |
| Corvallis, US | 77 |
| Moscow, US | 64 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 63 |
| Bronx, US | 53 |
| Flagstaff, US | 45 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 42 |
| Riverside, US | 38 |
| Vancouver, CA | 36 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 33 |
| Arcata, US | 32 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 32 |
| Spearfish, US | 31 |
| Albuquerque, US | 29 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 27 |
| Missoula, US | 26 |
| Victoria, CA | 25 |
| Angwin, US | 24 |
| Denver, US | 22 |
| Davis, US | 20 |
| Pullman, US | 19 |
| Musee des Dinosaures d'Esperaza (Aude)location not on record | 19 |
| CASlocation not on record | 18 |
| Tacoma, US | 18 |
| Bozeman, US | 17 |
| Boise, US | 16 |
| Pocatello, US | 16 |
| USFS/BHSClocation not on record | 15 |
| Phoenix, US | 15 |
| Durango, MX | 13 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 12 |
| Chadron, US | 11 |
| Lincoln, US | 11 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 9 |
| Austin, US | 9 |
| Bloomington, US | 9 |
| San Diego, US | 8 |
| Saint Louis, US | 8 |
| Bend, US | 8 |
| Mexico City, MX | 8 |
| Québec, CA | 7 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 7 |
| St. Paul, US | 7 |
| EL PASO, US | 7 |
| US | 7 |
| DOI/NPS, Mount Rainier National Parklocation not on record | 7 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 6 |
| Mexico City, MX | 6 |
| Durango, US | 6 |
| Logan, US | 5 |
| Brookings, US | 5 |
| University of British Columbia, Herbariumlocation not on record | 5 |
| University of Lethbridgelocation not on record | 5 |
| Cheney, US | 5 |
| Long Beach, US | 5 |
| Truckee, US | 5 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 4 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 4 |
| Giardini Botanici Hanburylocation not on record | 4 |
| USFSlocation not on record | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 4 |
| Fullerton, US | 3 |
| Mexico City, MX | 3 |
| Portland, US | 3 |
| Provo, US | 3 |
| San Angelo, US | 3 |
| US | 3 |
| Dekalb, US | 3 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 3 |
| Los Angeles, US | 3 |
| Guasave, MX | 3 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 3 |
| MEXUlocation not on record | 3 |
| Orem, US | 3 |
| Caldwell, US | 2 |
| Madison, US | 2 |
| Canadian Museum of Nature, National Herbarium of Canadalocation not on record | 2 |
| Emporia, US | 2 |
| Ashland, US | 2 |
| New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciencelocation not on record | 2 |
| San Francisco, US | 2 |
| Henderson, US | 2 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| San Jose, US | 2 |
| Northridge, US | 2 |
| Pittsburg, US | 2 |
| Montréal, CA | 1 |
| Toronto, CA | 1 |
| HJAEFlocation not on record | 1 |
| SEFlocation not on record | 1 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 1 |
| Whitewater, US | 1 |
| Taipei, TW | 1 |
| Knoxville, US | 1 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 1 |
| The University of Arizonalocation not on record | 1 |
| Irvine, US | 1 |
| Burlington, US | 1 |
| Saint John, CA | 1 |
| University of South Dakotalocation not on record | 1 |
| Riyadh Municipalitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Philadelphia, US | 1 |
| Ypsilanti, US | 1 |
| Columbia, US | 1 |
| San Bernardino, US | 1 |
| Fort Bragg, US | 1 |
| Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalitionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Mississippi State, US | 1 |
| KNFSClocation not on record | 1 |
| Tuscaloosa, US | 1 |
| San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 1 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 1 |
| Bangkok, TH | 1 |
| Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Moreloslocation not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Pterospora andromedea was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.