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shiny bugseed, slender bugseed

Hooker bugseed, Hooker's bugseed

Habit 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). Plants branched from base, 10–40(–60) cm, sparsely covered with dendroid and almost stellate hairs.
Leaf

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.

blades narrowly lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, plane, 2–5 × (0.1–)0.2–0.5(–0.6) cm.

Bracts

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).

ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.3–1 cm.

Inflorescences

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

usually dense, ovoid, ovate-clavate, or ovate-cylindric, rarely interrupted near base.

Perianth

segments 1–3.

segment 1.

Fruits

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.

usually deep olive green, brown, or rarely to almost black, usually without spots and/or warts, or occasionally spotted, strongly convex abaxially, prominently concave to almost plane adaxially, usually broadest beyond middle, (3.2–)3.5–4.5(–5) × 2.2–3.3(–3.5) mm;

wing (when present) semitranslucent, to 0.2 mm wide, margins entire, apex rounded or indistinctly triangular.

Corispermum nitidum

Corispermum hookeri

Phenology Flowering late summer–early fall.
Habitat Sand dunes, sandy and gravely shores, waste places
Distribution
from USDA
se Europe (with small extension into w Asia) [Supposedly introduced]
from FNA
AB; BC; MB; NT; ON; SK
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

The inflorescence bracts of Corispermum hookeri are conspicuously imbricate (usually strongly overlapping). Corispermum hookeri seems to be closely related to the narrow-winged taxa, C. villosum and C. ochotense, and to C. pallasii sensu stricto. The names C. orientale and C. hyssopifolium have been commonly misapplied to this species.

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

Key
1. Inflorescences dense throughout, rarely interrupted. Fruits oblong-obovate to obovate
var. hookeri
1. Inflorescences dense only at apex, interrupted. Fruits elongate to oblong-obovate
var. pseudodeclinatu
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 320. FNA vol. 4, p. 318.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum Chenopodiaceae > Corispermum
Sibling taxa
C. americanum, C. hookeri, C. hyssopifolium, C. navicula, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. pallidum, C. villosum, C. welshii
C. americanum, C. hyssopifolium, C. navicula, C. nitidum, C. ochotense, C. pacificum, C. pallasii, C. pallidum, C. villosum, C. welshii
Subordinate taxa
C. hookeri var. hookeri, C. hookeri var. pseudodeclinatu
Name authority Kitaibel ex Schultes: Oestr. Fl. ed. 2, 1: 7. (1814) Mosyakin: Novon 5: 349. (1995)
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