Argythamnia aphoroides |
Argythamnia argyraea |
|
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Hill country silverbush |
silky silverbush, silvery wild-Mercury |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, monoecious or dioecious, to 5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, dioecious, rarely monoecious, to 3.5 dm. |
Stems | erect to ascending, hairy, hairs malpighiaceous. |
erect, densely hairy, hairs silvery, malpighiaceous. |
Leaves | stipules deciduous, linear-lanceolate, to 1 mm, margins not glandular; petiole absent; blade elliptic, 1.5–4 × 0.6–2 cm, margins entire, without glands, surfaces hairy, hairs malpighiaceous. |
stipules deciduous, oblanceolate or obovate to ovate, 0.2–0.3 mm, margins not glandular; petiole 1–3 mm; blade elliptic to ovate, 0.9–4 × 0.4–0.8 cm, margins entire, without glands, surfaces densely hairy, hairs silvery, malpighiaceous. |
Inflorescences | unisexual, 3–8 cm; bracts linear-lanceolate, 2–4.5 mm, margins without glands. |
unisexual, pistillate 0.5–1 cm, flowers solitary, staminate 1–2 cm; bracts ovate to elliptic, 0.4–0.5 mm, margins without glands. |
Flowers | without pink dye when wetted. |
usually releasing pink dye when wetted. |
Staminate flowers | sepals lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 4–5.5 × 1.1–1.4 mm; petals cuneate-elliptic to cuneate-obovate, 3.3–4 × 1.6–3 mm, free from androphore; nectary glands oblong, 0.4–0.5 × 0.3–0.4 mm, adnate to androphore, glabrous; stamens 10, staminodes 0. |
sepals linear to lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.3–2 mm; petals linear-lanceolate, 3–5 × 0.5–0.6 mm, free from androphore; nectary glands ovate, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1 mm, free from androphore, glabrous; stamens 10, staminodes 5, punctiform, glabrous. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals lanceolate to elliptic, 6–7 × 1.7–3.2 mm, without glands; petals 0 or 5, linear, 0–1.7 mm; nectary glands oblong, 0.5 × 0.7 mm, glabrous; ovary tomentose to lanulose; styles 1.5–3 mm, tomentose; stigmas flattened. |
sepals elliptic, 3–4.3 × 0.8–2 mm, without glands; petals 5, lanceolate to linear, 1.5–2 × 0.3–0.5 mm; nectary glands oblong to linear, 0.8 × 0.5 mm, glabrous; ovary hispidulous; styles 1–1.7 mm, pilose; stigmas flattened. |
Capsules | 7–9 mm, tomentose to lanulose. |
4–5 mm, hairs adpressed, short, silvery. |
Seeds | 3.7–5 mm, smooth, lightly tuberculate, or striate. |
2.3–2.5 mm, finely papillate. |
Argythamnia aphoroides |
Argythamnia argyraea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jan–Jul. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Bluestem-grama grasslands, oak woodlands, calcareous, often rocky, clay or loam soils. | Shortgrass grasslands or open shrublands on whitish, clay soils. |
Elevation | 300–600 m. (1000–2000 ft.) | 100–400 m. (300–1300 ft.) |
Distribution |
TX |
TX |
Discussion | Argythamnia aphoroides is restricted to the Edwards Plateau. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
There are very few collections of Argythamnia argyraea, which is endemic to south Texas in Kinney, La Salle, and Maverick counties. Plants of Argythamnia argyraea are usually dioecious, but William Mahler found that larger plants are occasionally monoecious (J. Poole, pers. comm.). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 174. | FNA vol. 12, p. 175. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Ditaxis aphoroides | |
Name authority | Müller Arg.: Linnaea 34: 146. (1865) — (as Argyrothamnia) | Cory: Madroño 8: 92. (1945) |
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