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Cleveland's spineflower

San Francisco spineflower

Habit Plants spreading to decumbent, 0.2–0.8(–1) × 0.5–5(–7) dm, appressed-pubescent. Plants decumbent to prostrate or ascending, 0.5–2(–2.5) × 0.5–10 dm, villous.
Leaves

basal;

petiole 0.5–2 mm;

blade oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.3–0.6(–0.8) cm, thinly pubescent.

basal;

petiole (0.5–)1–3 cm;

blade oblanceolate, (0.5–)1–5 × (0.3–)0.4–0.7(–1) cm, villous.

Inflorescences

with involucres in small, open clusters 0.5–1.5 cm diam., greenish or grayish to 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 cm × 1–2(–3) mm, awns straight, 1–3 mm.

rather dense with secondary branches suppressed, greenish to reddish;

bracts 2, similar to proximal leaf blades only reduced, short-petiolate, becoming narrowly elliptic to linear-lanceolate and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 0.5–5 cm × 2–7 mm, awns 0.5–1.2 mm.

Involucres

3–10, grayish to reddish, urceolate, slightly ventricose basally, 3–3.5 mm, slightly corrugate, without scarious or membranous margins, densely pubescent;

teeth widely spreading to divergent, unequal, 0.3–0.6 mm or 3–6 mm;

awns uncinate, unequal, with longer anterior one 1.5–2.5 mm, others spreading, 0.3–0.6 mm.

1, greenish, cylindric, often ventricose basally, 1–3 mm, without scarious margins or if so then white to pink, thin, and restricted to basal portions of teeth, corrugate, villous abaxially;

teeth spreading, equal, 0.5–2 mm;

awns uncinate or straight with longer ones 2–3 mm and anterior one mostly 2.5–3 mm, these alternating with shorter 1–1.5(–1.7) mm ones.

Flowers

included or only slightly exserted;

perianth bicolored with floral tube greenish white and tepals white, cylindric, 2.5–3 mm, sparsely pubescent;

tepals connate 2/3 their length, dimorphic, linear-oblong, those of outer whorl spreading, 1.5 times longer than those of inner whorl, rounded, entire or emarginate to slightly 2-lobed apically, those of inner whorl erect, acute, entire to erose, slightly fimbriate or 2-lobed apically;

stamens 3, included;

filaments distinct, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous;

anthers white, ovate, 0.3–0.4 mm.

included to slightly exserted;

perianth bicolored with floral tube white and tepals white to rose, cylindric, 2–3 mm, pubescent abaxially;

tepals connate less than 1/4 their length, monomorphic, oblong, truncate to 3-lobed and distinctly cuspidate apically;

stamens 9, slightly exserted;

filaments distinct, 2–3 mm, glabrous;

anthers cream to rose, narrowly oblong, 0.3–0.4 mm.

Achenes

brown, globose-lenticular, 2.5–3 mm.

light brown, globose-lenticular, 2–3 mm.

2n

= 42.

Chorizanthe clevelandii

Chorizanthe cuspidata

Phenology Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland and chaparral communities, pine-oak woodlands
Elevation 400-2000 m (1300-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Chorizanthe clevelandii is locally infrequent to common in scattered locations in the Coast Ranges from Mendocino and Lake counties south to Santa Barbara County, and across the Transverse and Tehachapi ranges of Ventura and Kern counties to the southern Sierra Nevada in Tulare County. It is the most widely distributed of the spineflowers endemic to California. The involucres stick to fur, clothing, and fingers, aiding dispersal of the achenes.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Involucral awns uncinate apically; San Francisco area
var. cuspidata
1. Involucral awns straight, rarely curved or with 1 awn uncinate; Marin and Sonoma counties
var. villosa
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 460. FNA vol. 5, p. 454.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Chorizanthe > subg. Amphietes > sect. Ptelosepala Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Chorizanthe > subg. Amphietes > sect. Ptelosepala
Sibling taxa
C. angustifolia, C. biloba, C. blakleyi, C. brevicornu, C. breweri, C. corrugata, C. cuspidata, C. diffusa, C. douglasii, C. fimbriata, C. howellii, C. leptotheca, C. membranacea, C. obovata, C. orcuttiana, C. palmeri, C. parryi, C. polygonoides, C. procumbens, C. pungens, C. rectispina, C. rigida, C. robusta, C. spinosa, C. staticoides, C. stellulata, C. uniaristata, C. valida, C. ventricosa, C. watsonii, C. wheeleri, C. xanti
C. angustifolia, C. biloba, C. blakleyi, C. brevicornu, C. breweri, C. clevelandii, C. corrugata, C. diffusa, C. douglasii, C. fimbriata, C. howellii, C. leptotheca, C. membranacea, C. obovata, C. orcuttiana, C. palmeri, C. parryi, C. polygonoides, C. procumbens, C. pungens, C. rectispina, C. rigida, C. robusta, C. spinosa, C. staticoides, C. stellulata, C. uniaristata, C. valida, C. ventricosa, C. watsonii, C. wheeleri, C. xanti
Subordinate taxa
C. cuspidata var. cuspidata, C. cuspidata var. villosa
Synonyms C. pungens var. cuspidata
Name authority Parry: Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci. 4: 62. (1884) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 379. (1882)
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