Flora of North America species comparison

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Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu

Chorizanthe sect. Fragile
Photo is of parent taxon

brittle spineflower
Habit Plants 0.5–3(–5) × 0.5–3 dm. Plants spreading to erect.
Stems

disarticulating at each node.
Leaf

blades oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1.5–3(–4) × 0.1–0.3(–0.5) cm, apex acute.

blades oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic or spatulate.
Inflorescences

bracts awned;

involucres cylindric, slightly ventricose basally, 3-angled, 6-ribbed, 6-toothed, without membranous or scarious margins;

awns equal.
Involucres

distinctly and prominently ribbed at maturity.

Flowers

1;

perianth greenish white to white or pale yellowish white, glabrous;

stamens 3, adnate at top of perianth tube.
Achenes

dark brown, lenticular.
2n

= 38, 40, 42, (46).

Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu

Chorizanthe sect. Fragile
Phenology Flowering Feb–Jul.
Habitat Sandy places, mixed grassland, saltbush, creosote bush, and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands
Elevation -60-3000 m (-200-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[BONAP county map]
w United States; nw Mexico
Discussion

Variety brevicornu is known only from the warm Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 2 (1 in the flora).

Chorizanthe brevicornu of western North America, and its counterpart in western South America, C. commissuralis J. Rémy, are the most widely distributed members of the genus on their respective continents. The flowering stems and branches easily break apart, often with involucres still firmly attached. Even in this disarticulated condition, young achenes will continue to live and mature. No doubt this is a significant factor in their successful distribution.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 470. FNA vol. 5, p. 469.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Chorizanthe > subg. Amphietes > sect. Fragile > Chorizanthe brevicornu Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Chorizanthe > subg. Amphietes
Sibling taxa
C. brevicornu var. spathulata
Subordinate taxa
Name authority unknown Reveal & Hardham: Phytologia 66: 188. (1989)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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