Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe orcuttiana |
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Blakley's spineflower |
Orcutt spineflower, Orcutt's spineflower, San Diego spineflower |
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Habit | Plants spreading to ascending, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–3 dm, thinly pubescent. | Plants prostrate, 0.1–0.5 × 0.3–2(–2.5) dm, villous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole 0.5–2 cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.5–2.5 × 0.3–0.8 cm, thinly pubescent. |
basal; petiole 1–2 cm; blade narrowly oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.2–0.35(–0.5) cm, thinly pubescent. |
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 involucres in small clusters 0.5–1 cm diam., greenish; bracts 2, sessile, unequal, 1 laminar and oblanceolate, 0.3–1 cm × 1–3 mm, awnless, this opposite linear, acicular, greatly reduced, 0.1–0.2 cm × 0.3–0.6 mm bract terminated by short, straight awn 0.6–1 mm. |
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, campanulate, 3-ribbed, 0.8–2 mm, faintly corrugate, pubescent; teeth 3, equal, 1.8–2 mm; awns uncinate, 0.6–1 mm. |
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. |
1, included to slightly exserted; perianth yellow, cylindric, 1.5–1.8 mm, densely pubescent abaxially; tepals connate ca. 1/2 their length, monomorphic, narrowly oblanceolate, obtuse to truncate, entire apically, slightly spreading; stamens 9, slightly exserted; filaments distinct, 0.5–0.8 mm, glabrous; anthers reddish, ovate, 0.2–0.3 mm. |
Achenes | brown, globose-lenticular, 3–3.5 mm. |
dark brown, lenticular, 2–2.2 mm. |
2n | = ca. 38. |
= (76, 78), 80, (84). |
Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe orcuttiana |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Sandy or gravelly flats and slopes, chaparral communities, oak woodlands | Sandy soil, mesas and hills near coast, coastal scrub communities |
Elevation | 600-1600 m (2000-5200 ft) | 60-200 m (200-700 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 orcuttiana is known from a few populations on coastal mesas and hills near San Diego, San Diego County. It is federally listed as endangered. The species is an octoploid that may well have resulted from an ancient hybridization and doubling of chromosomes involving C. procumbens and C. polygonoides var. longispina. The Orcutt spineflower grows in soft, white sand; C. procumbens and C. polygonoides var. longispina are restricted to gravelly sites. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 459. | FNA vol. 5, p. 467. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Hardham: Leafl. W. Bot. 10: 95. (1964) | Parry: Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci. 4: 54. (1884) |
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