OregonFlora: Prosartes hookeri vs. Prosartes maculata

	Prosartes hookeri	Prosartes maculata
	drops-of-gold, Hooker's fairybells, Oregon fairybells
Habit	Plants 30–100 cm, roughly hairy.
Stems	erect, 30–80 cm, sparsely branched; either glabrous or minutely hairy.
Leaves	3–9(14) × 1.5–5 cm; leaf blade ovate to lanceolate; base rounded to subcordate; surfaces and margins glabrate to sparsely pubescent; hairs sharp and ascending; apex long-acuminate to acute.
Inflorescence	1–4-flowered.
Pedicels	pubescent or not.
Flowers	more or less funnel-shaped; tube more or less cylindrical; tepals oblanceolate, spreading at middle, narrowed at base, 8–18 mm; dull or creamy white to greenish white; apex short-acuminate; stamens exposed, 8–15 mm; filaments filiform, 6–15 mm, spreading; anthers generally exserted, 3–5 mm, glabrous or minutely sharp-bristled; ovary ellipsoid, pendulous, glabrous or somewhat hairy; ovules 2 per locule; style glabrous or basal half hairy; stigma not lobed or weakly 3-lobed.
Fruits	ovoid to obovoid, 7–12 mm, red, glabrous.
Seeds	4–6 per fruit, 5–6 mm.
2n	=18.

	Prosartes hookeri	Prosartes maculata
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Shady damp thickets, montane conifer and mixed-evergreen forests, exposed roadsides. Flowering Apr–Jul. 0–2300m. BW, Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, WA; north to British Columbia, east to MT and MI. Native. This species has three geographic races, formerly recognized as varieties (P. h. var. hookeri, var. oregana and var. trachyandra). These three races are highly variable with overlapping diagnostic characteristics and ranges. Only plants that fall at the extremes can be recognized as being distinct from one another. Glandular hairy forms of P. hookeri are referred to as distinct species (P. parvifolia) by some authorities. Prosartes hookeri is a western North American species with the exception of a recently discovered (1997) disjunct population in Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. Interestingly, the habitat of the Michigan plants is quite different from that of western populations (a dry-mesic to xeric basaltic ridge top).
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 308 Tamra Prior
Sibling taxa	P. parvifolia, P. smithii, P. trachycarpa	P. hookeri, P. parvifolia, P. smithii, P. trachycarpa
Synonyms	Disporum hookeri, Disporum hookeri var. hookeri, Disporum hookeri var. oreganum, Disporum hookeri var. trachyandrum, Disporum oreganum, Disporum parvifolium, Disporum trachyandrum
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Prosartes maculata

drops-of-gold, Hooker's fairybells, Oregon fairybells

Habit

Plants 30–100 cm, roughly hairy.

Stems

erect, 30–80 cm, sparsely branched; either glabrous or minutely hairy.

Leaves

3–9(14) × 1.5–5 cm;

leaf blade ovate to lanceolate;

base rounded to subcordate;

surfaces and margins glabrate to sparsely pubescent;

hairs sharp and ascending;

apex long-acuminate to acute.

Inflorescence

1–4-flowered.

Pedicels

pubescent or not.

Flowers

more or less funnel-shaped;

tube more or less cylindrical;

tepals oblanceolate, spreading at middle, narrowed at base, 8–18 mm; dull or creamy white to greenish white;

apex short-acuminate;

stamens exposed, 8–15 mm;

filaments filiform, 6–15 mm, spreading;

anthers generally exserted, 3–5 mm, glabrous or minutely sharp-bristled;

ovary ellipsoid, pendulous, glabrous or somewhat hairy;

ovules 2 per locule;

style glabrous or basal half hairy;

stigma not lobed or weakly 3-lobed.

Fruits

ovoid to obovoid, 7–12 mm, red, glabrous.

Seeds

4–6 per fruit, 5–6 mm.

=18.

Prosartes maculata

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Shady damp thickets, montane conifer and mixed-evergreen forests, exposed roadsides. Flowering Apr–Jul. 0–2300m. BW, Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, WA; north to British Columbia, east to MT and MI. Native.

This species has three geographic races, formerly recognized as varieties (P. h. var. hookeri, var. oregana and var. trachyandra). These three races are highly variable with overlapping diagnostic characteristics and ranges. Only plants that fall at the extremes can be recognized as being distinct from one another. Glandular hairy forms of P. hookeri are referred to as distinct species (P. parvifolia) by some authorities. Prosartes hookeri is a western North American species with the exception of a recently discovered (1997) disjunct population in Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. Interestingly, the habitat of the Michigan plants is quite different from that of western populations (a dry-mesic to xeric basaltic ridge top).

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 308
Tamra Prior

Sibling taxa

P. parvifolia, P. smithii, P. trachycarpa

P. hookeri, P. parvifolia, P. smithii, P. trachycarpa

Synonyms

Disporum hookeri, Disporum hookeri var. hookeri, Disporum hookeri var. oreganum, Disporum hookeri var. trachyandrum, Disporum oreganum, Disporum parvifolium, Disporum trachyandrum

Web links