Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe howellii |
|
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Blakley's spineflower |
Howell's spineflower, Mendocino spineflower |
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Habit | Plants spreading to ascending, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–3 dm, thinly pubescent. | Plants spreading or decumbent to somewhat erect, 0.3–1 × 1–5 dm, villous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole 0.5–2 cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.5–2.5 × 0.3–0.8 cm, thinly pubescent. |
basal or nearly so; petiole 1–4 cm; blade spatulate to broadly obovate, 1–3 × 0.5–1.5(–1.8) cm, villous. |
Inflorescences | with involucres in dense clusters 1–2 cm diam., yellowish green; bracts 2, without whorl of sessile bracts about midstem, usually leaflike, oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm × 1.5–3 mm, gradually reduced and becoming scalelike at distal nodes, linear, aciculate, acerose, 0.3–0.8 cm × 1–2 mm, awns straight, 1–2.5 mm. |
with secondary branches suppressed, greenish to grayish; bracts 2, similar to proximal leaf blades only reduced, short-petiolate, becoming linear and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 1–5 cm × 5–15 mm, awns absent. |
Involucres | 3–10+, yellowish green, urceolate, slightly ventricose basally, 3–4.5 mm, slightly corrugate, without scarious or membranous margins, thinly pubescent; teeth spreading, unequal, 1–3 mm; awns straight or uncinate with longer anterior one straight or slightly curved, mostly 2 mm, others uncinate, 0.5–1.5 mm. |
1, greenish to grayish, broadly cylindric, not ventricose, 3–4 mm, with conspicuous, white, scarious margins between teeth and extending up awn, not corrugate, pubescent; teeth spreading, equal, 0.5–1 mm, awns straight with longer ones 1–2 mm and anterior one mostly 2 mm, these alternating with shorter (0.5–1 mm) ones. |
Flowers | exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube greenish white to white and the lobes white to pinkish, cylindric, 5–6 mm, sparsely pubescent; tepals connate 2/3 their length, dimorphic, obovate, those of outer whorl erect, slightly longer than those of inner whorl, 2-lobed apically, those of inner whorl erect, 2-lobed, erose apically; stamens 9, included; filaments distinct, 5–5.5 mm, glabrous; anthers yellow to golden, oblong, 1–1.2 mm. |
exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube white and tepals white to rose, cylindric, (3–)3.5–4.5 mm, pubescent nearly throughout; tepals connate 1/4 their length, dimorphic, oblong, truncate and erose to denticulate apically, those of outer lobes longer and wider than inner ones; stamens 9, included; filaments distinct, 3–4 mm, glabrous; anthers pink to red, oblong, 0.6–0.8 mm. |
Achenes | brown, globose-lenticular, 3–3.5 mm. |
light brown, globose-lenticular, 3–4.5 mm. |
2n | = ca. 38. |
= (72, 74, 76, 78), 80, (82, 84, 86, 88, 90). |
Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe howellii |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Sandy or gravelly flats and slopes, chaparral communities, oak woodlands | Sandy places in coastal dunes and grassland communities |
Elevation | 600-1600 m (2000-5200 ft) | 0-20 m (0-100 ft) |
Distribution |
CA |
CA |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Chorizanthe blakleyi is known only from north-facing slopes and foothills of the Sierra Madre. The species is rare and localized. The yellowish green stem, branches, and involucres readily distinguish it. The white flowers align it with C. obovata. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Chorizanthe howellii is an octoploid probably derived from an ancient hybrid event involving C. cuspidata var. villosa and perhaps C. valida. It is known only from a dune area north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County, and is federally listed as endangered. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 459. | FNA vol. 5, p. 456. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Hardham: Leafl. W. Bot. 10: 95. (1964) | Goodman: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 21: 44, plate 3, fig. 1. (1934) |
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