Agalinis pulchella
Agalinis decemloba
beautiful false foxglove, purple gerardia, St. Mark's false foxglove
ten-lobed false foxglove
branched, 50–120 cm;
branches spreading-ascending, quadrangular-ridged, scabrous.
simple or branched, 6–60 cm;
branches ascending to spreading, quadrangular-ridged, wingless distally, glabrous or sparsely scabridulous.
spreading-ascending;
blade filiform, 16–40 x 0.4–1 mm, margins entire, midvein harshly scabrous, adaxial surface scabrous;
axillary fascicles: length 1/2–1 times subtending leaves.
ascending to spreading;
blade linear-filiform to linear, (6–)8–25 x 0.4–1.5 mm, margins entire, often siliceous, adaxial surface finely scabrous;
axillary fascicles absent.
racemiform-paniculiform, flowers 1 per node, some flowers pseudoterminal;
bracts shorter than pedicels.
racemes, short to elongate, interrupted, flowers 1 or 2 per node;
bracts usually shorter than, sometimes both shorter and longer than, pedicels.
spreading-ascending, 12–50 mm, scabrous.
ascending to +/- spreading, (3–)6–26 mm, glabrous.
calyx hemispheric, tube 3–4(–5) mm, glaucous, lobes erect, subulate, 0.1–0.6 mm;
corolla dark pink to rose, with 2 yellow lines and purple spots in abaxial throat, 22–33 mm, throat sparsely pilose externally and glabrous within across bases of adaxial lobes, sparsely villous at sinus, lobes: abaxial reflexed-spreading, adaxial spreading, 6–12 mm, equal, glabrous externally;
proximal anthers parallel to filaments, distal perpendicular to filaments, pollen sacs 2.5–3.8 mm;
style strongly exserted, 9–18 mm.
calyx obconic to hemispheric, tube (1.3–)2–4.5(–5.5) mm, glabrous, lobes subulate to triangular, (0.2–)0.5–1.5(–2) mm;
corollas pale pink to pink, usually with 2 yellow lines and red spots in abaxial throat, (5–)6–14.5 mm, throat pilose externally and villous within across bases and sinus of adaxial lobes, lobes: abaxial spreading, adaxial erect to recurved, (2–)3–6(–7) mm, glabrous externally;
proximal anthers parallel to filaments, distal perpendicular to filaments, pollen sacs 0.8–2.2 mm;
style exserted, (5–)7–12 mm.
globular, 4–6 mm.
ovoid, 3.5–5 mm.
black, 0.5–0.8 mm.
yellowish tan, 0.3–1.2 mm.
= 26.
= 26.
Agalinis pulchella
Agalinis decemloba
Agalinis pulchella is an uncommon species in the easternmost area of its range and is common only westward in southeastern Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
J. B. Pettengill and M. C. Neel (2011) provided morphological and molecular evidence that showed Agalinis decemloba and A. acuta are conspecific. Their data also indicated that A. tenella is most closely related to A. decemloba (including A. acuta) and may merit infraspecific status within A. decemloba. The authors maintain A. tenella based on morphological characters that include: larger corollas with proportionally larger recurved lobes; larger anthers; longer styles and stigma; and larger plants with many laxly spreading branches than A. decemloba. Agalinis decemloba is rare, and populations show extreme variation in numbers of plants produced per year. The authors agree with Pettengill and Neel that A. decemloba, as circumscribed here to include the federally listed endangered A. acuta, is threatened and deserves protection. Study of a population of A. decemloba (as A. acuta) in Massachusetts showed these plants were self-compatible (Neel 2002). Agalinis decemloba is distinguished from A. obtusifolia by the following characteristics: stems and branches flexible and drying green versus stiff and drying stramineous, leaves linear to linear-filiform versus linear-elliptic to spatulate, bracts shorter than to slightly longer than pedicels versus much shorter than pedicels, calyx lobes subulate to triangular versus deltate, and corollas usually with two yellow lines and red spots in abaxial throat versus two yellow lines and pink spots absent or pale in abaxial throat.
Agalinis decemloba is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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