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thinstem lady's mantle

alchémille des montagnes, hairy lady's-mantle, mountain alchemilla

Habit Plants small to medium-sized, glaucous to grass green, young inflorescences yellowish, soon becoming reddish brown, to 40 cm. Plants medium-sized, grass green, young inflorescences yellowish, often becoming reddish brown, 25–30(–40) cm, often robust.
Stems

densely spreading- to very sparsely hairy at least in proximal 1/2.

densely spreading-hairy in distal 1/2.

Leaves

stipules translucent, usually strongly wine red-tinged proximally, lobes green;

blade usually reniform, sometimes orbiculate, shallowly 7–9-lobed, margins flat or slightly, rarely distinctly, undulate, basal sinuses usually wide, sometimes narrow, middle lobes rounded, shorter than to equal to their half-widths, sometimes longer;

incisions absent or relatively short to long;

teeth sometimes slightly connivent, slightly to strongly asymmetric, apex usually acute to subobtuse, sometimes obtuse, abaxial surface glabrous or hairy, nerves glabrous proximally or hairy throughout, adaxial sparsely to densely hairy throughout or on folds only.

stipules translucent to pale green proximally, apex green;

blade reniform or reniform-orbiculate, rather shallowly 7–9-lobed, margins flat or slightly undulate, basal sinuses wide or narrow, basal lobes not overlapping, middle lobes rounded, equal to longer than their half-width;

incisions usually relatively short, sometimes absent or relatively long;

teeth usually slightly connivent, mostly slightly asymmetric but a few strongly so, apex acute to subobtuse, surfaces densely pubescent throughout, adaxial gray green to dark green.

Inflorescences

primary branches glabrous or densely pubescent;

peduncles glabrous or densely hairy.

primary branches densely hairy;

peduncles sparsely hairy or glabrous.

Pedicels

glabrous or hairy.

glabrous or some of the proximal hairy.

Flowers

epicalyx bractlet lengths 0.5 times to almost equal to sepals (always narrower);

hypanthium usually sparsely to densely hairy, sometimes glabrous.

green, often becoming reddish;

epicalyx bractlet lengths at least 0.5 times sepals (not longer, always narrower);

hypanthium rounded at base, usually sparsely to densely spreading-hairy, rarely glabrous.

Achenes

exserted.

exserted 1/5 from discs.

Alchemilla filicaulis

Alchemilla monticola

Phenology Flowering late May–Sep.
Habitat Meadows, lawns, ditches, under trees
Elevation 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
WY; NB; NS; ON; QC; Europe
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; MA; ME; MT; NH; NM; NY; VT; WI; BC; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Pedicels, distal 1/2 of stems, primary inflorescence branches, and peduncles usually glabrous; abaxial leaf surfaces usually glabrous, nerves usually glabrous proximally, sometimes hairy throughout, adaxial sparsely to densely hairy throughout or on folds only.
subsp. filicaulis
1. All pedicels, distal 1/2 of stems, primary inflorescence branches, and peduncles densely hairy; abaxial leaf surfaces usually irregularly or uniformly hairy, sometimes glabrous, nerves hairy throughout, adaxial usually densely hairy throughout, rarely only on folds.
subsp. vestita
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 307. FNA vol. 9, p. 308.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Alchemilla Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Alchemilla
Sibling taxa
A. alpina, A. glabra, A. glaucescens, A. glomerulans, A. micans, A. mollis, A. monticola, A. subcrenata, A. venosa, A. wichurae, A. xanthochlora
A. alpina, A. filicaulis, A. glabra, A. glaucescens, A. glomerulans, A. micans, A. mollis, A. subcrenata, A. venosa, A. wichurae, A. xanthochlora
Subordinate taxa
A. filicaulis subsp. filicaulis, A. filicaulis subsp. vestita
Synonyms A. vulgaris var. filicaulis A. pastoralis, A. vulgaris var. pastoralis
Name authority Buser: Bull. Herb. Boissier 1(app. 2): 22. (1893) Opiz: in F. Berchtold et al., Oekon.-techn. Fl. Böhm. 2(1): 13. (1838)
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