Chorizanthe diffusa |
Chorizanthe biloba |
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diffuse spineflower |
two lobed spineflower, twolobe spineflower |
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Habit | Plants spreading, decumbent, prostrate, or rarely slightly erect, 0.3–1(–1.5) × 0.5–2(–10) dm, villous. | Plants erect or infrequently spreading, (0.5–)1–3(–4) × 1–3(–4) dm, pubescent. | ||||
Leaves | basal; petiole 0.2–1.8(–2) cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.3–2 × 0.1–0.4 cm, villous. |
basal; petiole 0.5–3 cm; blade oblanceolate, 1–3(–5) × 0.4–1(–1.3) cm, thinly pubescent. |
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Inflorescences | rather dense with secondary branches suppressed, white to greenish; bracts 2, similar to leaf blades at proximal nodes only reduced, short-petiolate, becoming linear and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 0.3–2 cm × 1–4 mm, awns absent. |
with involucres in open clusters 2–4(–6) cm diam., greenish or reddish to purplish; bracts 2–3 at proximal node, usually leaflike, often with whorl of sessile bracts ca. midstem, elliptic, 0.5–1.5 cm × 2–6 mm, gradually becoming lanceolate to elliptic, 0.2–2 cm × 1.5–8 mm, at distal nodes scalelike, linear and aciculate, acerose, awns straight, 1–3 mm. |
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Involucres | 1, mostly greenish, cylindric, not ventricose, 2–2.5 mm, with thin to broad and then conspicuous white or pinkish to purple, scarious margins extending nearly full length of awn, not corrugate, villous-hirsute; teeth spreading to divergent, equal, 0.5–1 mm, awns uncinate with longer ones 1–2 mm, anterior one mostly 2 mm, alternating with shorter (0.5–1 mm) ones. |
3–10 or more, grayish or reddish, urceolate and slightly ventricose basally, 4–6 mm, without scarious or membranous margins, slightly corrugate, strigose; teeth erect to spreading, unequal, 1–2 mm; awns mostly uncinate, 0.5–2 mm, with longer anterior one straight, mostly 2 mm. |
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Flowers | exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube lemon-yellow and tepals white, campanulate, 2.5–3 mm, glabrous; tepals connate ca. 1/3 their length, monomorphic, oblong, acute to obtuse and entire apically; stamens 3–9, slightly exserted; filaments distinct, 1.5–2 mm, glabrous; anthers yellow, oval, 0.3–0.4 mm. |
exserted; perianth bicolored with floral tube white to yellow and tepals red, maroon, or dark purple, cylindric, (4.5–)5–6 mm, sparsely pubescent; tepals connate 1/2 their length, dimorphic, obovate, those of outer whorl spreading, slightly longer than those of inner whorl, 2-lobed, emarginate, or subacute apically, those of inner whorl erect, obtuse, fimbriate apically; stamens 9, exserted; filaments distinct, 4–5 mm, glabrous; anthers yellow to golden, oblong, 1.2–1.8 mm. |
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Achenes | dark brown, globose-lenticular, 2–2.5 mm. |
brown, globose-lenticular, 4–4.5 mm. |
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2n | = 38, 40, 42. |
= (34, 36, 38), 40, (42, 44, 46). |
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Chorizanthe diffusa |
Chorizanthe biloba |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | |||||
Habitat | Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, coastal scrub communities, pine-oak woodlands | |||||
Elevation | 30-800 m (100-2600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA
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CA
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Discussion | The involucral margins of Chorizanthe diffusa vary greatly. In some individuals, the white margins are barely visible. Plants with the margins of the involucre are predominantly white have been designated var. nivea. A full gradation between the extremes may be observed in most populations, although in coastal sands var. nivea is often the dominant expression. Diffuse spineflower occurs near the coast and in the Coast Ranges of central California. Chorizanthe diffusa has been shown to inhibit carcinogen-induced preneoplastic lesions in a mouse mammary-organ culture model. This inhibitory activity is known to correlate with cancer chemopreventive effects in full-term models of tumorigenesis (see H. S. Chung et al. 1999). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Unlike the serpentine species Chorizanthe palmeri and C. ventricosa, C. biloba occurs on gravelly or clayey soils. Those species and C. obovata can be quickly differentiated by carefully examining the colors, shapes, and modifications of the tepals. Immature specimens can be difficult to place, but a combination of geographic location and edaphic features can often enable accurate identification of even fragmentary material. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 452. | FNA vol. 5, p. 458. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | C. andersonii, C. diffusa var. nivea, C. nivea, C. pungens var. diffusa, C. pungens var. nivea | C. palmeri var. biloba | ||||
Name authority | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 26. (1856) | Goodman: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 21: 73. (1934) | ||||
Web links |