The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

snowlover

Rocky Mountain snowlover

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.

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.

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.

Inflorescences

terminal, spikelike, secund racemes;

bracts present.

Pedicels

present or absent;

bracteoles absent.

0–4 mm, glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent.

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.

Fruits

capsules, dehiscence septicidal.

Capsules

8–9.5 × 4.5–6 mm.

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.

x

= 8.

2n

= 16.

Chionophila

Chionophila jamesii

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Gravelly slopes, alpine meadows, subalpine bogs.
Elevation 3300–4100 m. (10800–13500 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
w United States
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; NM; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Key
1. Verticillasters continuous; calyx tubes 8–9 mm.
C. jamesii
1. Verticillasters interrupted; calyx tubes 1–2 mm.
C. tweedyi
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 61. Author: Craig C. Freeman. FNA vol. 17, p. 61.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae > Chionophila
Sibling taxa
C. tweedyi
Subordinate taxa
C. jamesii, C. tweedyi
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