Chionophila |
Chionophila jamesii |
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snowlover |
Rocky Mountain snowlover |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial; caudex woody or herbaceous. | |||||
Stems | erect, glabrous or puberulent. |
1 or 2(or 3), (3–)5–12(–15) cm, puberulent or retrorsely hairy, sometimes glabrate. |
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Leaves | basal and cauline, cauline smaller, opposite, sometimes alternate distally; petiole present or absent; blade not fleshy, ± leathery or not, margins entire. |
basal and proximal cauline, blade oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, 12–78 × 2–18 mm, surfaces glabrous or glabrate; cauline 1–3 pairs, blade narrowly lanceolate to linear, 8–28 × 1–3 mm. |
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Racemes | 1–5 cm, verticillasters 2–7, continuous, sparsely puberulent and, usually, sparsely glandular-puberulent; bracts ovate to lanceolate, proximal ones 8–19 × 4–7 mm. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, spikelike, secund racemes; bracts present. |
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Pedicels | present or absent; bracteoles absent. |
0–4 mm, glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent. |
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Flowers | bisexual; sepals 5, proximally connate, calyx radially symmetric, cylindric to funnelform, lobes triangular to narrowly ovate; corolla greenish white, creamy white, or pale lavender, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate, tubular-funnelform, tube base not spurred or gibbous, throat not densely pilose internally, lobes 5, abaxial 3, adaxial 2; stamens 4, proximally adnate to corolla, didynamous, filaments glabrous; staminode 1, ± filiform; ovary 2-locular, placentation axile; stigma capitate. |
calyx tube 8–9 mm, sparsely glandular-puberulent, lobes triangular, 1.5–2.5 × 2–2.5 mm; corolla greenish white or creamy white, 10–15 mm, glabrous externally, palate and proximal parts of abaxial limb densely white-lanate, hairs to 1.5 mm, tube 3–4 mm, pollen sacs 0.5–0.6 mm, explanate; staminode 5–7 mm; style 10–12 mm. |
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Fruits | capsules, dehiscence septicidal. |
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Capsules | 8–9.5 × 4.5–6 mm. |
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Seeds | 10–20, tan or brown, ellipsoid to fusiform or ellipsoid-disciform, wings present. |
tan to brown, ellipsoid to fusiform with tail on each end, 3–4.2 mm. |
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x | = 8. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Chionophila |
Chionophila jamesii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Gravelly slopes, alpine meadows, subalpine bogs. | |||||
Elevation | 3300–4100 m. (10800–13500 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
w United States |
CO; NM; WY
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Discussion | Species 2 (2 in the flora). Chionophila shares morphological similarities with Penstemon, most notably an epistaminal nectary of glandular hairs. Both have a base chromosome number of eight. R. M. Straw (1966) hypothesized that they are sister taxa. Relationships among genera in Cheloneae remain equivocal (A. D. Wolfe et al. 1997, 2002, 2006; S. L. Datwyler and Wolfe 2004). Chionophila is distinguished from Penstemon by a more prominent calyx tube, spikelike racemes, prominently winged seeds, and absence of bracteoles. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Chionophila jamesii occurs in the central Rocky Mountains from the Medicine Bow Mountains of south-central Wyoming to the Culebra Range in Taos County in north-central New Mexico. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 61. | FNA vol. 17, p. 61. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Pentstemonopsis | |||||
Name authority | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 331. (1846) | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 331. (1846) | ||||
Web links |