Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe uniaristata |
|
---|---|---|
Blakley's spineflower |
one-awn spineflower |
|
Habit | Plants spreading to ascending, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–3 dm, thinly pubescent. | Plants spreading or ascending, 0.2–0.6(–0.8) × 0.5–4(–5) dm, appressed-pubescent. |
Leaves | basal; petiole 0.5–2 cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.5–2.5 × 0.3–0.8 cm, thinly pubescent. |
basal; petiole 0.5–2 cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.2–0.8 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 open clusters 0.5–1.5 cm diam., greenish to grayish or reddish; bracts 2, sessile, usually leaflike, oblanceolate to elliptic, 0.5–1.5 cm × 1.5–5 mm, gradually reduced and becoming scalelike at distal nodes, linear, aciculate, acerose, 0.4–1.2 cm × 1–2(–3) mm, awns straight, 1.5–4 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. |
3–10, grayish to reddish, urceolate, slightly ventricose basally, 2–3 mm, without scarious or membranous margins, slightly corrugate, densely grayish-pubescent; teeth widely spreading to divergent, unequal, 0.3–0.5 or 3–6 mm; awns straight or uncinate, unequal, with longer anterior one straight, 2.5–5.5 mm, others spreading, uncinate, 0.3–0.5 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. |
included or only slightly exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube greenish white and tepals white, cylindric, 2–3 mm, sparsely pubescent; tepals connate 2/3 their length, dimorphic, linear-oblong, those of outer whorl spreading, narrowly oblong, 1.5 times longer than those of inner whorl, rounded but with minute cusp or 3 teeth apically, those of inner whorl erect to slightly spreading, acute, entire apically; stamens 3, included; filaments distinct, 1–2 mm, glabrous; anthers white, ovate, 0.4–0.5 mm. |
Achenes | brown, globose-lenticular, 3–3.5 mm. |
brown, globose-lenticular, 2–3 mm. |
2n | = ca. 38. |
= (78), 80, (82). |
Chorizanthe blakleyi |
Chorizanthe uniaristata |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Sandy or gravelly flats and slopes, chaparral communities, oak woodlands | Sandy to gravelly talus or clay flats and slopes, mixed grassland and chaparral communities, pine-oak woodlands |
Elevation | 600-1600 m (2000-5200 ft) | 800-1900 m (2600-6200 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.) |
Chorizanthe uniaristata is scattered in the Inner Coast Ranges and across the Transverse and Tehachapi ranges to the southern Sierra Nevada. One-awn spineflower is a polyploid, but whether an autopolyploid or an autoallopolyploid has not been determined. It has the smallest meiotic chromosomes observed by C. B. Hardham (1989). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 459. | FNA vol. 5, p. 460. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Hardham: Leafl. W. Bot. 10: 95. (1964) | Torrey & A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 195. (1870) |
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