Chorizanthe douglasii |
Chorizanthe fimbriata |
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Douglas' spineflower, San Benito spineflower |
fringe spineflower |
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Habit | Plants erect, 1–4(–5) × 0.5–3 dm, villous. | Plants erect to spreading, 1–3(–3.5) × 1–2.5 dm, pubescent and minutely glandular. | ||||
Leaves | basal; petiole 1–3(–6) cm; blade oblanceolate, 0.5–2(–4) × 0.1–0.4(–1) cm, villous. |
basal; petiole 0.5–3(–5) cm; blade elliptic to obovate or spatulate, 1–3(–3.5) × 0.2–1(–2.5) cm, thinly pubescent adaxially, sparsely tomentose abaxially. |
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Inflorescences | cymose, dichotomously branched throughout, white to greenish or reddish; bracts usually 2, similar to proximal leaf blades, typically with whorl of 3–5 ca. midstem, short-petiolate, becoming linear and aciculate at distal nodes, acerose, 0.5–2(–3) cm × 1–5(–10) mm, awns absent. |
open, reddish; bracts 3 at proximal node, otherwise 2, sessile, scalelike, linear, acicular, often acerose, 0.1–0.5 cm × 0.5–1 mm, awns straight, 1–2 mm. |
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Involucres | congested in small leafy terminal clusters of 2–4 at nodes of dichotomies, greenish, cylindric, slightly ventricose basally, 3–5 mm, with conspicuous, purple, broad, membranous margins typically extending across sinuses, finely corrugated, hispid at least along ridges, otherwise sparsely pubescent; teeth spreading, equal, (0.7–)1–1.5 mm, awns straight, 0.5–1 mm. |
1(–5+), reddish or greenish, cylindric, not ventricose, 4–6(–7) mm, finely corrugate, with thin hyaline margins between teeth, sparsely to densely pubescent; teeth divergent, unequal, 3 longer ones 1–3 mm, alternating with 3 shorter ones 0.3–1 mm; awns straight, unequal, 3 longer ones 1–2.5(–3) mm, shorter one (0.3–)0.5–1.5 mm. |
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Flowers | exserted; perianth white to rose, cylindric, 3.5–4(–4.5) mm, slightly pubescent abaxially; tepals connate 2/3 their length, monomorphic, obovate, 2-lobed or denticulate apically, infrequently inner whorl entire; stamens 9, slightly exserted; filaments distinct, 3–4 mm, glabrous; anthers pink to red, oblong, 0.5–0.6 mm. |
exserted; perianth bicolored, with floral tube yellow to yellowish white and tepals white to rose, becoming dark rose to red with age, cylindric, 6–9(–10) mm, glabrous abaxially except for few to several scattered hairs ca. midlength along midribs; tepals connate 1/2 their length, monomorphic, oblong, fimbriate to laciniate apically; stamens 9, included; filaments distinct, 3–8 mm, glabrous; anthers pink to red, oblong, 0.5–0.7 mm. |
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Achenes | light brown, globose-lenticular, 3.5–4 mm. |
brown, lenticular, 3–4 mm. |
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2n | = 40. |
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Chorizanthe douglasii |
Chorizanthe fimbriata |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | |||||
Habitat | Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland communities, oak and pine woodlands | |||||
Elevation | (200-)300-1600 m ((700-)1000-5200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA
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CA; nw Mexico
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Discussion | Chorizanthe douglasii is restricted to the Santa Lucia Mountains and to the San Gabilan and La Panza ranges of west-central California. The species is infrequent but can be locally common. A single collection made in the Santa Cruz Mountains (Rowntree s.n., 16 Jun 1929, CAS) may have been made in Santa Cruz County, but the location is uncertain and no other collection is known from that region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Chorizanthe fimbriata is our only representative of subsect. Flava, a taxon of six species otherwise confined to Baja California. These are the most elegant of the annual species in their remarkable flowers. The flower color, the fine divisions of the tips of the tepals, plus the handsome habit make them of potential horticultural interest for the “need-to-be-challenged” gardeners. In addition to C. fimbriata var. laciniata, C. pulchella Brandegee would be a worthy introduction. Chorizanthe flava Brandegee has bright yellow flowers that contrast dramatically with its reddish mature inflorescence branches. The large (7–9 mm) flowers of C. mutabilis Brandegee are a wonder to behold, the yellow floral tube contrasting with the white to red of the tepals themselves. (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. 465. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | C. nortonii | |||||
Name authority | Bentham: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 418. (1836) | Nuttall: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 4: 17. (1848) | ||||
Web links |