Synthyris rubra
(synonym of Besseya rubra)
Synthyris
red besseya
kittentail
erect when aerial, horizontal to erect when subterranean, glabrous.
strictly annual, disintegrating in 1st year;
blade oblong-ovate to ovate, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base cuneate, truncate, or rounded to lobate, sometimes cordate, margins crenate, teeth apices acute to rounded, surfaces sparsely hairy;
basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 3–6 on each side of midvein.
basal, helical;
petiole present;
blade not fleshy, leathery or not, margins with simple or compound teeth and some lobes deeply incised to pinnatifid.
erect, to 45 cm in fruit;
sterile bracts 10–30, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm;
flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit).
axillary, racemes, erect or decumbent;
bracts present.
present;
bracteoles absent.
bisexual;
sepals 2–4(or 5), basally connate, calyx bilaterally symmetric, campanulate, lobes ovate to lanceolate;
corolla white, yellow, green, pink, reddish, lavender, or blue to bluish purple, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate or ± regular (unilabiate in S. rubra), campanulate, tubular, ellipsoid, or rudimentary, tube base not spurred or gibbous, lobes 0 or 3 or 4(or 5), abaxial 2 or 3(or 4), adaxial 1;
stamens 2, epipetalous or inserted on receptacle, filaments glabrous;
staminode 0;
ovary 1-locular, placentation parietal centrally, axile distally and proximally;
stigma capitate.
inserted on receptacle.
ovules 17–40.
capsules, flattened, dehiscence loculicidal and basipetal over apex.
densely hairy.
2–40, brown, disc- or boat-shaped (S. cordata, S. reniformis), wings absent.
4, basal connation between abaxial and adaxial lobes on each side of flower.
1–4, apex entire or erose;
corolla reddish, bluish purple, green, or white, bilabiate or unilabiate, rudimentary, much shorter than calyx, glabrous, lateral and abaxial petals of abaxial lip connate 1/2+ their lengths, abaxial and adaxial petal lips basally adnate to stamens, tube absent.
Synthyris rubra
Synthyris
Natural hybrids of Synthyris missurica and S. rubra occur near Kamiah, Idaho (A. R. Kruckeberg and F. L. Hedglin 1963).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 19 (19 in the flora).
Plants of Synthyris flower in the early spring and as early as snowmelt in alpine and tundra areas, and fruits mature by mid spring. Flowers are protogynous. Species of Synthyris are not consistent with Darwin's pollination syndrome that associates acropetal floral maturation with protandry and upward movement of pollinators on the inflorescence; instead, insect visitors (primarily pollen foraging bees) show a weak tendency to move vertically among the protogynous flowers with both self- and cross-pollination (M. J. McCone et al. 1995).
Synthyris occurs in arctic and alpine tundra, grasslands, savannas, and mesophytic forests. Some species have restricted distributions, and two are of conservation concern.
Synthyris is part of a monophyletic Veroniceae that includes Veronica and allied genera. The closest relatives of Synthyris are uncertain and may be either clades of Veronica or Asian Veroniceae (Albach et al. 2004; D. C. Albach and H. M. Meudt 2010).
Species treated as Besseya by P. A. Rydberg (1903), F. W. Pennell (1933), and C. G. Schaack (1983) are monophyletic in Synthyris. The bilabiate flowers and more coriaceous leaves characteristic of the besseyas are derived in Synthyris. Dissected leaves are convergent in Synthyris, evolving independently in S. pinnatifida and the clade consisting of S. canbyi, S. dissecta, and S. lanuginosa, in association with shifts into alpine and treeline environments (L. Hufford and M. McMahon 2004). Synthyris cordata and S. reniformis are low elevation species of moist forests that uniquely share decumbent infructescences, an apparent specialization for seed dispersal by ants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves strictly annual, disintegrating in 1st year; leaf blade margins crenate or incised-crenate; corollas bilabiate, unilabiate (S. rubra), or absent (S. wyomingensis), longer than or as long as calyces, or corollas rudimentary or absent. | → 2 |
2. Petals 0 or 1–4, rudimentary if present, corollas much shorter than calyces if present. | → 3 |
3. Sepals 4, basal connation between abaxial and adaxial lobes on each side of flower; petals 1–4, rudimentary. | S. rubra |
3. Sepals 2–4, all lobes connate, if 2+ lobes then connate for at least 1/2 of length on abaxial side; petals 0. | S. wyomingensis |
2. Petals 3 or 4(or 5), corollas nearly as long as or longer than calyces. | → 4 |
4. Corollas blue, bluish purple, lavender, or reddish. | S. alpina |
4. Corollas white, yellow, or pink. | → 5 |
5. Corollas yellow. | → 6 |
6. Basal veins of leaves extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 3–6 on each side of midvein; corolla tubes conspicuous; stamens epipetalous; ovaries puberulent to villous. | S. bullii |
6. Basal veins of leaves extending through basal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 5–12 on each side of midvein; corolla tubes absent; stamens inserted on receptacles, abaxial and adaxial petal lips basally adnate to stamens; ovaries glabrous or sparsely hairy at apex. | S. ritteriana |
5. Corollas pink to white. | → 7 |
7. Corollas 2–3 mm longer than calyces; ovaries puberulent to villous at apex; Sierra Blanca Range, New Mexico. | S. oblongifolia |
7. Corollas 0–2 mm longer than calyces; ovaries glabrous; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming. | S. plantaginea |
1. Leaves persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand; leaf blade margins dentate, crenate, incised-crenate, laciniate, pinnately lobed, or ± palmately lobed; corollas ± regular, much longer than calyces. | → 8 |
8. Racemes decumbent, sterile bracts usually 0. | → 9 |
9. Leaf blades ovate to ovate-cordate; corollas glabrous. | S. cordata |
9. Leaf blades cordate to reniform; corollas puberulent-villous in throat. | S. reniformis |
8. Racemes erect, sterile bracts 2 or 3+. | → 10 |
10. Petal apices laciniate. | → 11 |
11. Racemes ovate-spatulate, largest sterile bracts less than 1 cm; Idaho. | S. platycarpa |
11. Racemes fan-shaped, largest sterile bracts 2+ cm; nw Oregon, w Washington. | S. schizantha |
10. Petal apices entire or erose. | → 12 |
12. Leaf blade margins laciniate, ±incised-crenate, dentate, or ± palmately lobed. | → 13 |
13. Capsules hairy; Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska. | S. borealis |
13. Capsules glabrous, glabrescent, or sparsely hairy; nw United States. | → 14 |
14. Leaf blades less than 25 mm wide; corolla tubes inconspicuous. | S. ranunculina |
14. Leaf blades 25+ mm wide; corolla tubes conspicuous. | → 15 |
15. Leaf blades ovate or cordate, margins ± incised-crenate or laciniate to ± pinnatifid, sometimes ± palmately lobed; Montana. | S. canbyi |
15. Leaf blades orbiculate, reniform, or cordate, margins ± laciniate or ± incised-crenate to dentate, sometimes palmately lobed; California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington. | → 16 |
16. Leaf blade margins ± laciniate, sometimes palmately lobed or incised-crenate; Utah. | S. laciniata |
16. Leaf blade margins ± incised-crenate to dentate; California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington. | S. missurica |
12. Leaf blade margins pinnately lobed or 1–3-pinnatifid. | → 17 |
17. Leaf blade surfaces canescent or tomentose. | → 18 |
18. Leaf blade surfaces tomentose; adaxial petals flat; ec Idaho, sw Montana. | S. dissecta |
18. Leaf blade surfaces canescent; adaxial petals not flat; nw Washington. | S. lanuginosa |
17. Leaf blade surfaces glabrous, sparsely hairy, puberulous, or villous. | → 19 |
19. Capsules hairy. | → 20 |
20. Ovaries sparsely hairy at apices; flowers 10–50; Montana. | S. canbyi |
20. Ovaries pilose to tomentose; flowers 10–30; ec Idaho, Montana. | S. dissecta |
19. Capsules glabrous. | → 21 |
21. Leaf blade margins ± pinnatifid, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces sparsely hairy; Montana. | S. canbyi |
21. Leaf blade margins 1- or 2-pinnatifd, teeth apices obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous or villous; Idaho, Utah, Wyoming. | S. pinnatifida |
OR
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