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boat-shape bugseed, crescent bugseed

pale bugseed

Habit Plants branched from the base or nearly so, 5–15(–25) cm, sparsely covered with dendroid or stellate hairs, or almost glabrous. Plants branched from base, 5–25 cm, covered with dendroid and almost stellate hairs and minute papillae (especially on veins of young bracts and distal leaves), occasionally almost glabrous.
Leaf

blades linear-lanceolate, linear, occasionally narrowly lanceolate, usually plane, (1.5–)2–4 × 0.1–0.5 cm.

blades linear, narrowly linear, occasionally linear-spatulate, rarely almost filiform, flat or occasionally slightly convolute (especially at maturity and in dry plants), 2–5 × 0.1–0.2(–0.3) cm.

Bracts

ovate or ovate-lanceolate (occasionally proximal ones leaflike, narrowly ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate), 0.5–2 × 0.2–0.6 cm.

usually narrowly ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, (0.5–)1–1.5(–2) × 0.2–0.5 cm.

Inflorescences

compact and dense, ovoid, ovate or oblong-obovate.

lax or slightly condensed, interrupted only near base, linear.

Perianth

segment 1.

segment 1.

Fruits

brown, dark brown, or deep olive green, usually with numerous reddish brown spots and whitish warts, strongly convex abaxially, usually strongly concave adaxially, elongate-obovate or obovate-elliptic, broadest beyond middle, (4.2–)4.5–5(–5.2) × 2.5–3 mm;

wing not translucent or translucent only at margin, thick, 0.1–0.2(–0.3) mm wide (occasionally nearly absent), margins entire or irregularly erose, usually involute toward adaxial face of fruit, apex rostrate, triangular (wing long-adnate to style bases).

pale, usually straw-colored or yellowish brown, occasionally with reddish brown spots, flattened or slightly convex abaxially, plane or slightly concave adaxially, rounded-obovate or obovate, distinctly broadest beyond middle (rarely closer to middle), 2.8–3.5(–3.8) × 2.4–2.8(–3.3) mm, slightly shiny or dull;

wing translucent, thin, usually 0.7–1 mm wide, margins erose or irregularly erose-denticulate (rarely almost entire), apex emarginate (notched) or rounded.

Corispermum navicula

Corispermum pallidum

Phenology Flowering late summer–fall. Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Sand dunes, probably also sandy and gravely shores Sandy shores of lakes and rivers, inland open sands
Elevation 2500 m (8200 ft) 300-400 m (1000-1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
WA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Corispermum navicula is very similar in its fruit morphology to the Siberian species C. bardunovii M. Popov ex M. Lomonosova (M. N. Lomonosova 1992). Probably, the two taxa represent results of parallel evolution (or parallel variability?) within North American and Asian representatives of the same species aggregate. The most distinctive character of both C. navicula and C. bardunovii, an elongated fruit body with almost parallel margins in the middle portion and distinctly triangular apex, shows a transition toward representatives of Corispermum sect. Declinata Mosyakin. Additional study of C. navicula would help clarify its relationships with other species. Some specimens from Oklahoma may also belong to C. navicula.

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

Of conservation concern.

The combination of characteristics of Corispermum pallidum is very distinctive: pale, flattened, and small fruit body; very wide (especially as compared to the fruit dimensions), thin, translucent wing with erose margins, long style bases (ca. 0.7–1 mm, including their parts adnate to wing), distinctly divided in their upper parts to below the edge of the wing. Young bracts and distal leaves of C. pallidum are often papillose on margins and veins, in combination with typical branched trichomes. Corispermum pallidum seems to be related to the eastern Asian C. macrocarpum Bunge ex Maximowicz aggregate (subsect. Platyptera Mosyakin).

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

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 317. FNA vol. 4, p. 319.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum
Sibling taxa
C. americanum, C. hookeri, C. hyssopifolium, C. nitidum, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. pallidum, C. villosum, C. welshii
C. americanum, C. hookeri, C. hyssopifolium, C. navicula, C. nitidum, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. villosum, C. welshii
Name authority Mosyakin: Novon 5: 349. (1995) Mosyakin: Novon 5: 347, fig. 1B. (1995)
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