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American bug-seed, common bug-seed

shiny bugseed, slender bugseed

Habit Plants branched from or beyond base (rarely simple or with few simple branches), 10–35(–50) cm, sparsely covered with dendroid or stellate hairs, often becoming glabrous. Plants branched from base (rarely slightly above base), 10–55(–70) cm, glabrous or sparsely covered with dendroid or stellate hairs (then often becoming glabrous).
Leaf

blades linear or narrowly linear (occasionally linear-lanceolate or almost filiform), usually plane or occasionally folded (especially in dry plants), 1.5–3.5(–4) × 0.1–0.3 cm.

blades narrowly linear or filiform (rarely linear), usually convolute or folded (especially in mature and/or dry plants), rarely plane (when young), 2–4(–5) × 0.1–0.2 cm.

Bracts

ovate-lanceolate,lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, or occasionally proximal ones almost linear, much longer than distal, 0.5–2(–3.5) × (0.2–)0.3–0.7 cm.

narrowly ovate-lanceolate, lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, or linear, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.1–0.3(–0.4) cm, (most bracts within inflorescence rather uniform, usually narrower than mature fruits).

Inflorescences

usually lax, interrupted, rarely ± condensed distally, linear, narrowly linear, or occasionally narrowly clavate.

lax, usually interrupted from base to apex, rarely slightly condensed (only at apex when immature), narrowly linear or linear.

Perianth

segment 1.

segments 1–3.

Fruits

yellowish brown, greenish brown, light brown, or brown, often with reddish brown spots and whitish warts, slightly convex abaxially, usually plane or slightly concave adaxially, obovate or obovate-elliptic, usually broadest beyond middle, (2.3–)2.5–4.5 × 2–3.5 mm, shiny or dull;

wing translucent, thin, (occasionally translucent only at margin, thick), (0.15–)0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm wide, margins entire or rarely indistinctly erose, apex broadly triangular, less commonly truncate or rounded.

straw colored (yellowish brown), light brown, deep olive green, occasionally tinged with red, without spots and warts, convex abaxially, plane or slightly concave adaxially, obovate or broadly elliptic, often broadest near middle (rarely slightly above), 2.3–3.3(–3.5) × (1.8–)2–2.8 mm, shiny;

wing translucent, thin, usually 0.1–0.3 mm wide, margins entire, apex rounded.

Corispermum americanum

Corispermum nitidum

Phenology Flowering late summer–early fall.
Habitat Sand dunes, sandy and gravely shores, waste places
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; IL; IN; KS; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; QC; SK; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
se Europe (with small extension into w Asia) [Supposedly introduced]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Corispermum americanum var. americanum may also occur in British Columbia, where only immature specimens have been seen. Specimens from Oregon and Wyoming are transitional toward Corispermum villosum. The names C. hyssopifolium and C. nitidum were commonly misapplied to this native species by many authors (see also note under C. nitidum).

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

Specimens of Corispermum nitidum superficially similar to, or almost indistinguishable from, European C. nitidum in their habit (especially when immature) are fairly common in North American collections. Judging from their fruit morphology, they mostly belong to C. americanum (or probably to introgressive hybrids between the introduced C. nitidum and native C. americanum). I have not seen any unquestionably reliable specimens of C. nitidum sensu stricto from North America. More detailed comparative experimental and field studies are needed in order to clarify the complicated taxonomy of the group in North America.

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

Key
1. Fruits (2.3-)2.5-3.5 mm, wing usually 0.2-0.3 mm wide (occasionally fruits almost wingless in some southwestern plants)
var. ameri
1. Fruits (3-)3.5-4(-4.5) mm, wing usually 0.3-0.4(-0.5) mm wide.
var. rydbe
Source FNA vol. 4. FNA vol. 4, p. 320.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum
Sibling taxa
C. hookeri, C. hyssopifolium, C. navicula, C. nitidum, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. pallidum, C. villosum, C. welshii
C. americanum, C. hookeri, C. hyssopifolium, C. navicula, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. pallidum, C. villosum, C. welshii
Subordinate taxa
C. americanum var. ameri, C. americanum var. rydbe
Synonyms C. hyssopifolium var. americanum, C. imbricatum, C. marginale, C. simplicissimum
Name authority (Nuttall) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 5: 165. (1834) Kitaibel ex Schultes: Oestr. Fl. ed. 2, 1: 7. (1814)
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