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Alchemilla orbiculata; photograph Carlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SACarlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alchemilla orbiculata Ruiz & Pav.

Rosaceae · Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast +7

English names not checked: Wikidata's common names were not read for this page.

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Alchemilla orbiculata, photograph Carlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph Carlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph Carlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph LUFJARD, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 5 photographs ›
Habitat figures
Coldest month, mean nightly low
5.7°C
Jan, Jul and Aug at the habitat, not a floor; extremes not used (the weather cell's ground is too far off) CHELSA
Warmest month, mean daily high
15°C
Sep at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
2,022mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
27–32DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in the habitat's months, not shifted
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Rain spread: 70% of the median year's rain takes 8 months, so no short rainy season. rain rule, CHELSA
Not shifted: the shift rule does not apply to this habitat. The chart is in the habitat's months.

About the genus · Alchemilla

Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to Alchemilla mollis when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herbal tea or for medicinal usage such as gynaecological disorders is Alchemilla xanthochlora or in Middle Europe the so-called common lady's mantle Alchemilla vulgaris. There are between 800 and 1000 species, the majority native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, with a few species native to the mountains of Africa and the Americas.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Alchemilla", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Seasons

The rain rule reads no short rainy season: 70% of the median year's rain (1,523 mm of 2,061 mm) takes 8 months, February to May and September to December. Mean temperature moves 1.0 °C between the warmest and coldest month. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere. The habitat lies within 10° of the equator, where the shift rule does not apply, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Rain

2,061 mm in the median year at the habitat, 1,523 mm of it February to May and September to December. Wettest month April at 250 mm, driest month August at 116 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 1,200 mm to 3,747 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 2,022 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 2,061 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 32 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 23, the highest 90th-percentile month 40).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 5.7 °C in January, July and August (across the grid cells of the range 2.3 °C to 9.5 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 14.7 °C in September (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: none read. The nearest figure is 5.7 °C, the coldest month's mean nightly low, January, July and August, in the median year (CHELSA); a month's mean of its nightly lows is warmer than the nights a floor is read from. The daily extremes were read at a weather cell whose ground is too far above or below the typical spot to correct for, and are not used.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 67 to 69% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. No cold floor is read without a daily extremes series; the coldest month's mean nightly low named in its sentence is not one. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Alchemilla orbiculata through the yearWarmest month September, mean daily high 15 °C; coldest months January, July and August, mean nightly low 5.7 °C; 2,061 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.0°5°10°15°20°25°°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500mm rainDLI 27–32RH 67–69%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 197 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C14 / 10–1814 / 10–1914 / 10–2014 / 10–2114 / 10–2114 / 9–1914 / 9–1914 / 9–1915 / 10–1914 / 10–1914 / 10–1814 / 10–18
Night °C6 / 2–106 / 3–107 / 3–107 / 3–117 / 3–116 / 2–116 / 2–116 / 2–116 / 2–116 / 2–106 / 3–106 / 2–10
Rain mm134 / 30–246160 / 33–275210 / 36–343250 / 61–427202 / 87–418154 / 79–337134 / 54–329116 / 51–296155 / 73–334193 / 100–414195 / 62–370158 / 41–273
DLI31 / 26–3431 / 27–3530 / 27–3627 / 25–3927 / 23–4027 / 24–3429 / 25–3532 / 29–3632 / 29–3630 / 26–3429 / 25–3329 / 25–32
RH %67 / 59–7167 / 59–7268 / 60–7269 / 61–7368 / 62–7369 / 62–7368 / 61–7367 / 59–7267 / 60–7168 / 63–7168 / 63–7167 / 61–71

The daily extremes were not used: the correction for elevation, +1104 m, is beyond the 1,000 m either way that a lapse rate is applied over, so the weather cell's ground is other terrain than the typical spot's. So no cold floor is read for this species, and the coldest month's mean nightly low is not taken as one. What that cell gave, so corrected, over 44 years: absolute minimum -2.4 °C, 1st-percentile night -0.2 °C.

How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 197 grid cells holding the 303 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1806:2027 (-0.325, -78.625). Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 197 distinct grid cells holding 303 of the 303 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1806:2027 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -0.50_-78.750, lapse-corrected +1104 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 3605 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.

This species has no GBIF key of its own. Its records are GBIF's under the key of the name Kew's World Checklist holds as this plant: 3025389 (Lachemilla orbiculata (Ruiz & Pav.) Rydb., 977 records). No name was matched to GBIF; the keys are read from Kew's synonymy. How.

NativeMexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest, Mexico Southeast, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker4.774, -75.396 · in the densest population, 439 records (83% of those in range)
Kew's description“subshrub” · “montane tropical” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 532 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 303 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 372 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 795 km away. 2 records outside the WCVP native range not used. 229 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 3025389 (Lachemilla orbiculata (Ruiz & Pav.) Rydb.): Kew's file holds it as Lachemilla orbiculata (Ruiz & Pav.) Rydb. (synonym under Alchemilla orbiculata Ruiz & Pav.); 977 records, from GBIF's download.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 4° block of the 532 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Alchemilla orbiculata, photograph 1did not loadAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph 2did not loadAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph 3did not loadAlchemilla orbiculata, photograph 4did not load

Photographs: Carlo Brescia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (3); LUFJARD, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Escallonia myrtilloides Escallonia myrtilloides Escalloniaceae Photo: CC BY, Yuri Sofronov Blechnum loxense Aspleniaceae Fernandezia crystallina Fernandezia crystallina Fernández’s Crystalline Orchid Photo: CC BY, Ryan F. MandelbaumVaccinium floribundum Vaccinium floribundum Colombian blueberry Photo: CC0, author not statedBuddleja incana Buddleja incana Wand butterflybush Photo: CC BY, Nicolás Baresch UribeGaultheria myrsinoides Gaultheria myrsinoides Cacalote Photo: CC BY, Denis Zabin

Other Alchemilla 48 in the reference

Alchemilla abyssinica Rosaceae Alchemilla alpina Alchemilla alpina Alpine lady's-mantle Photo: CC BY, Anniina KuusijärviAlchemilla anisiaca Alchemilla anisiaca Rosaceae Photo: CC BY, thomas_oswald Alchemilla arvensis Rosaceae Alchemilla baltica Alchemilla baltica Baltic Lady's Mantle Photo: CC BY, Dmitriy BochkovAlchemilla bulgarica Alchemilla bulgarica Rosaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Krzysztof Ziarnek, KenraizAlchemilla caucasica Alchemilla caucasica Rosaceae Photo: CC BY, Jacek PietruszewskiAlchemilla conjuncta Alchemilla conjuncta Silver lady's-mantle Photo: CC BY, Jon MortinAlchemilla cymatophylla Alchemilla cymatophylla Rosaceae Photo: CC BY, Михаил Языков Alchemilla decumbens Rosaceae Alchemilla epipsila Alchemilla epipsila Round-leaved Lady's-mantle Photo: CC BY-SA, SalicynaAlchemilla erythropoda Alchemilla erythropoda Rosaceae Photo: CC BY, carnifex all 49 ›

Names & registers

Also known as Lachemilla orbiculata; Alchemilla orbiculata var. villifera; Alchemilla orbiculata f. villifera; Alchemilla rotundifolia; Aphanes orbiculata and 1 more. (WCVP, RBG Kew)

IPNIPOWOWikidata

The record

Family
Rosaceae
Described by
Ruiz & Pav.
Native to
Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Gulf +6
Wild records
532 in range · 372 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
Kew's names (WCVP) kew.names answeredas of 2026-06-04Kew's entry Alchemilla orbiculata Ruiz & Pav. (plant_name_id 2939955), read from Kew's names file
GBIF species record gbif.species not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21this species has no GBIF key of its own; its records are read under GBIF's keys for the names Kew's file holds as this plant, never by a name matched; GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 977 records of GBIF's key 3025389, Lachemilla orbiculata (Ruiz & Pav.) Rydb. (Kew's file holds it as Lachemilla orbiculata (Ruiz & Pav.) Rydb. (synonym under Alchemilla orbiculata Ruiz & Pav.)): the GBIF download
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -0.50_-78.750, lapse-corrected +1104 m at 6.5 °C/km; read, and set aside: the correction for elevation, +1104 m, is beyond the 1,000 m either way that a lapse rate is applied over, so the weather cell's ground is other terrain than the typical spot's, so no cold floor is shown
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by Kew's IPNI identifier 720816-1, POWO 720816-1
Wikipedia wikipedia nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
Wikimedia Commons commons answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 81 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

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