Boerhavia spicata
Boerhavia intermedia
creeping spiderling
fivewing spiderling
erect or ascending, sparingly branched throughout, 30–70 dm, densely glandular-villous, or glandular-puberulent, with spreading, nonglandular hairs basally, glabrous distally.
usually erect or ascending, occasionally decumbent, moderately or profusely branched primarily distally, 2–6 (–8) dm, minutely puberulent with bent hairs basally, glabrous or minutely puberulent distally.
mostly in basal 1/2;
larger leaves with petiole 10–30 mm, blade oval, oblong, ovate, or ± triangular, 18–45 × 13–30 mm (distal leaves usually smaller, sometimes longer, proportionately narrower), adaxial surface lightly to densely glandular-pubescent, abaxial surface paler than adaxial, lightly to densely glandular-pubescent, neither surface punctate or both minutely punctate with clusters of brown cells, base truncate, round, or obtuse, margins sinuate, sometimes crisped, apex round to obtuse, rarely acute.
mostly in basal 1/2 of plant;
larger leaves with petiole 7–25 mm, blade broadly ovate or oval to lanceolate, 20–45 × 7–16 mm (distal leaves smaller, sometimes longer, proportionately narrower), adaxial surface usually glabrous, occasionally glandular-puberulent, often minutely punctate, abaxial surface paler than adaxial, glabrous or glabrate, usually punctate with small patches of reddish or brownish cells, base round, obtuse, or truncate, margins entire or slightly sinuate, apex acute, obtuse, or round.
terminal and axillary, branched 1–4 times unequally, with sticky internodal bands;
branches strongly ascending, terminating in spicate or racemose flower clusters, axis 10–55 mm.
terminal, forked ca. 3–6 times ± evenly (or clearly unevenly), diffuse, usually with sticky internodal bands;
branches strongly ascending, terminating in umbels or flowers borne singly, occasionally subumbellate (all pedicels not attaching at same point), rarely irregularly compound umbels.
pedicel 0.4–2.3[–3.7] mm;
bracts at base of perianth usually soon deciduous, usually 2, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 0.7–1.8 mm, apex often acuminate;
perianth white to pale pink, campanulate distal to constriction, 1–1.3 mm;
stamens (2–)3, slightly exserted or included.
pedicel 0.5–3.2 mm;
bracts at base of perianth quickly deciduous, (1–)2, narrowly lance-acuminate, 0.5–1 mm;
perianth whitish to pale pink or purplish, campanulate distal to constriction, 0.7–1.2[–2] mm;
stamens 2–3, included or barely exserted.
5–33 per cluster, usually overlapping or 2–4 in group separated by small gap from next group, straw colored to grayish or reddish tan, broadly obovoid, 1.9–2.4(–2.8) × 1.1–1.3 mm (l/w: 1.7–2.1[–2.3]), apex rounded, glabrous;
ribs 5, obtuse-rounded to obtuse, often with low winglike ridge, slightly rugose near sulci;
sulci (0.2–)0.5 times as wide as base of ribs, slightly rugose, not papillate.
1–15 per cluster, straw colored or gray-brown, obconic, broadly low conic, 2–2.8(–3.2) × 0.7–1.3 mm (l/w: 1.7–3.2), apex nearly truncate, glabrous;
ribs (4–)5, acute, slightly rugose or undulate near sulci;
sulci 0.2–1 times as wide as base of ribs, coarsely transversely rugose, smooth or very faintly papillate.
= ca. 52.
= 52, ca. 54.
Boerhavia spicata
Boerhavia intermedia
C. F. Reed (1969) and subsequent authors have included one or more of Boerhavia coulteri, B. torreyana, and B. watsoni as synonymous with B. spicata. Even when those taxa are removed, B. spicata remains a variable species, widespread at low to middle elevations in southwestern North America, and distinguished by its mostly overlapping, obovoid fruits with rather open sulci, and the glandular pubescence on basal parts of the plant.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Boerhavia intermedia is a wide-ranging and variable species of the arid areas of southwestern North America. Ordinarily, the terminal inflorescence is an umbel of at least a few flowers. Plants with few-flowered umbels often have only one flower at some of the terminal inflorescences. Plants with predominantly or entirely one-flowered terminal inflorescences occasionally occur in the eastern part of the range. To the west, and especially on the Coloradan portion of the Sonoran Desert and on the Baja California peninsula, plants with one-flowered terminal inflorescences are more frequent, and even though those have five-ribbed fruits, they often have been identified as B. triquetra. In that region, such plants may have proportionately broader fruits as the ribs become more winglike. Some plants in southern California bear a few fruits with four angles, and in this respect are intermediate to B. triquetra.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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