Ayenia microphylla |
Ayenia pilosa |
|
---|---|---|
dense ayenia, little-leaf ayenia, shrubby ayenia |
dwarf ayenia, hairy ayenia |
|
Habit | Shrubs, erect or spreading, 0.2–0.6 m. Stems hairy, hairs stellate, arms appressed. | Subshrubs, decumbent, 0.1–0.2(–0.3) m. Stems hairy, hairs simple and retrorse, or simple, fasciculate, and stellate. |
Leaves | petiole 0.4–1.2 cm; blades of proximal leaves orbiculate to suborbiculate, 0.5 × 0.4 cm, distal ovate to narrowly ovate, unlobed, 0.5–2.1(–3) × 0.4–1.8(–2) cm, base rounded or obscurely subcordate, margins serrate, stellate-hairy (not ciliate), apex acute to rounded, 3(–5)-veined from base, surfaces minutely, densely stellate-hairy. |
petiole 0.5–1 cm; blades of proximal leaves broadly ovate to orbiculate, 0.5–1.3 × 0.5–1.1 cm, distal ovate to oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, unlobed, 0.5–2(–3.5) × 0.4–1.4(–1.7) cm, base cordate, margins serrate to doubly serrate, ciliate with 1+ bristles per tooth, apex acute, 3–5-veined from base, surfaces moderately to sparingly hirsute, hairs usually simple, bifurcate, and fasciculate, sometimes also stellate. |
Pedicels | to 4 mm. |
1.5–2 mm. |
Flowers | sepals caducous, not reflexed at anthesis, ovate-lanceolate, 2.5–3.2 mm, densely stellate-pubescent abaxially; petal claws 4 mm, lamina reniform-deltate, 1.4–1.6 × 1.5 mm, base lobed, lobes ± rectangular, margins entire, apex with 2 widely spaced teeth, surfaces glabrous, abaxial appendage absent; androgynophore 0.5–1 mm; stamen filaments present; stigmas scarcely exserted. |
sepals persistent, not reflexed at anthesis, ovate, 2 mm, sparingly stellate-hairy abaxially; petal claws 4 mm, lamina rhombic, 1 × 1 mm, base attenuate on claw, margins entire, apex notched, surfaces sparingly hairy abaxially, hairs simple, multicellular, abaxial appendage cylindric to slightly clavate, 0.5 mm; androgynophore 1.5 mm; stamen filaments present; stigmas slightly exserted. |
Capsules | subspheric, 4–5 × 4–5 mm, puberulent to densely stellate-pubescent, prickles 0.5 mm. |
subspheric, 3–3.5 × 3.5 mm, sparingly stellate-hairy, prickles 0.5 mm. |
Seeds | 3 mm, tuberculate. |
2–2.5 mm, sparingly tuberculate. |
Cymes | axillary, borne on short shoots (brachyblasts), 1- or 2-flowered; peduncle to 4 mm. |
axillary, not borne on short shoots (brachyblasts), (1 or)2 or 3-flowered; peduncle 2–3 mm. |
Ayenia microphylla |
Ayenia pilosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–early fall. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Dry limestone, igneous rocky slopes | Edges of thickets |
Elevation | 600–1400 m (2000–4600 ft) | 600–1200 m (2000–3900 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Coahuila)
|
NM; TX; Mexico (Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas) |
Discussion | Ayenia microphylla can be distinguished from other Ayenia species in the flora area by the presence of short shoots (brachyblasts) from which leaves and inflorescences emerge. In Texas, the species is known from the trans-Pecos region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Leaf shape and vestiture are the principal characters used to distinguish Ayenia pilosa from A. filiformis. Where they co-occur in southwestern Texas there are intermediates in which the leaves are oblong-ovate as in A. pilosa but the vestiture is more like that of A. filiformis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 206. | FNA vol. 6, p. 206. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | A. Gray: Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 3(5): 24. (1852) | Cristóbal: Opera Lilloana 4: 185, fig. 65. (1960) |
Web links |