Flora of North America species comparison

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Androsace occidentalis

Androsace chamaejasme

western Androsace, western fairy-candelabra, western rock-jasmine

sweet-flower fairy-candelabra, sweetflower rockjasmine
Habit Plants annual, inconspicuous, not mat-forming.
Leaves

in single rosette;

petiole obscure;

blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, or spatulate, 5–30 × 4–9 mm, base obscurely narrowing to stem, margins with simple hairs, surfaces puberulent, hairs simple.

Scapes

1–15, 2–10 cm, glabrescent to puberulent.

Inflorescences

3–15-flowered;

involucral bracts lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, relatively broad.

Pedicels

erect to arcuate, slender, unequal, 0.3–3 cm.

Flowers

calyx broadly campanulate, ridged, 3–5 mm, lobes erect, broadly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse;

corolla tube equaling or shorter than calyx, limb ca. 3 mm diam.

Capsules

± equaling calyx, 3–5 mm.

North

America
2n

= 20.

Androsace occidentalis

Androsace chamaejasme
Phenology Flowering early-mid summer.
Habitat Open, grassy meadows, sandy or gravelly open soils, often in disturbed areas
Elevation 300-1700 m (1000-5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; LA; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OH; OK; SD; TX; UT; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MT; NM; UT; WY; AB; BC; NT; NU; YT; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Androsace occidentalis is widespread across the central and western United States, extending into southern Canada. It is often confused with A. septentrionalis, with which it overlaps geographically somewhat in the western portion of its range. Androsace occidentalis is generally restricted to lower elevations and is distinguished by its broad involucral bracts and cup-shaped calyx. In A. septentrionalis, the involucral bracts are narrow and the calyx V-shaped at the base, a shape enhanced by the more prominent calyx ridges. Hybridization between A. occidentalis and A. septentrionalis has not been documented; some specimens from intermediate elevations in the Four Corners area show intermediate bract morphology and slight glandular pubescence, a characteristic of some southwestern populations of A. septentrionalis.

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

Subspecies 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 262. FNA vol. 8, p. 260.
Parent taxa Primulaceae > Androsace Primulaceae > Androsace
Sibling taxa
A. chamaejasme, A. elongata, A. filiformis, A. septentrionalis
A. elongata, A. filiformis, A. occidentalis, A. septentrionalis
Subordinate taxa
A. chamaejasme subsp. lehmanniana
Synonyms A. arizonica, A. occidentalis var. arizonica, A. occidentalis var. simplex, A. platysepala
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 137. 1813 , Wulfen ex Host: Syn. Pl., 95. (1797)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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