Chorizanthe watsonii |
Chorizanthe corrugata |
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five-tooth spineflower, Watson's spineflower |
wrinkled spineflower |
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Habit | Plants spreading to erect, 0.2–1(–1.5) × 0.2–1(–1.5) dm, densely canescent-strigose. | Plants erect, 0.3–1.5 × 0.3–1 dm, thinly tomentose. |
Leaves | basal or nearly so; petiole (0.5–)1–2.5(–3) cm; blade oblanceolate, (0.3–)0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.2–0.4(–0.5) cm, thinly floccose to sparsely tomentose. |
basal or nearly so; petiole 0.5–2(–3) cm; blade round-ovate, (0.5–)0.8–1.5(–2) × (0.3–)0.5–1.5(–2) cm, thinly floccose to tomentose. |
Inflorescences | with involucres in small clusters 0.5–1 cm diam., greenish to reddish; bracts 2, with laminar ones oblanceolate, (0.5–)0.8–1.5(–2) cm × (1–)2–4 mm, those at distal nodes becoming sessile, reduced and scalelike, linear-lanceolate, acicular, awns slightly curved, 0.5–1 mm. |
with involucres in small clusters 0.5–1 cm diam., green to tan or reddish; bracts 2, linear to linear-lanceolate, acicular, 2–7 cm × 1–2.5 mm, awns slightly curved, 0.5–1 mm. |
Involucres | 1, green, cylindric, 5-ribbed, 3–4.5 mm, finely corrugate, pubescent; teeth 5, erect, unequal, with leaflike, narrowly lanceolate, 2–6 mm anterior tooth, others linear, 1–2 mm; awn uncinate, 0.4–0.8(–1) mm. |
1, green to tan, cylindric, 3-angled but 3-ribbed, 3–4 mm, markedly transverse corrugate, glabrate; teeth 3, equal, 2–4.5 mm; awns uncinate, 0.6–1 mm. |
Flowers | 1, included to slightly exserted; perianth yellow, cylindric, 1.5–2.5 mm, thinly pubescent abaxially; tepals connate ca. 2/3 their length, monomorphic, oblong, acute, entire apically, mostly erect; stamens 3 or 9, slightly exserted; filaments distinct, 0.8–1 mm, glabrous; anthers yellow, ovate, 0.2–0.3 mm. |
1, included to slightly exserted; perianth white, cylindric, 2–2.5 mm, thinly pubescent abaxially; tepals connate ca. 2/3 their length, monomorphic, oblong, acute, entire apically; stamens 6, slightly exserted; filaments distinct, 0.8–1 mm, glabrous; anthers cream, ovate, 0.4–0.5 mm. |
Achenes | brown, lenticular, 2.5–3 mm. |
brown, lenticular, 2.5–3 mm. |
2n | = 38. |
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Chorizanthe watsonii |
Chorizanthe corrugata |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Aug. | Flowering Feb–May. |
Habitat | Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands | Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, creosote bush, and sagebrush communities |
Elevation | 300-2400 m (1000-7900 ft) | -70-1000 m (-200-3300 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; ID; NV; OR; UT; WA
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AZ; CA; NV; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
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Discussion | Chorizanthe watsonii is widely distributed in the cold desert of the Great Basin and in the northern part of the warmer Mojave Desert. Plants in the northern part of the range (especially on the Palouse Prairie of south-eastern Washington) usually have three stamens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Chorizanthe corrugata is found mainly in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. The narrow, transversely corrugated involucral tube is diagnostic. Some anomalous flowers with four or eight stamens have been seen but this condition was always associated with other flowers bearing the normal number. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 468. | FNA vol. 5, p. 468. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Acanthogonum corrugatum | |
Name authority | Torrey & A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 199. (1870) | (Torrey) Torrey & A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 198. (1870) |
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