Crepis atribarba
Crepis nana
dark hawksbeard, slender hawksbeard
dwarf alpine hawksbeard, dwarf hawksbeard
1–2, erect, slender, usually branched distal to middles, glabrous or tomentulose.
1–10+, erect or ascending (in dense clumps), simple or proximally branched, glabrous.
basal and cauline; petiolate;
blades lanceolate to linear, 10–35 × 0.5–6 cm, margins deeply pinnately lobed (lobes narrowly lanceolate or linear, usually entire or toothed), apices acuminate, faces tomentulose to glabrate.
basal and cauline; petiolate (at least basal);
blades (often purplish), orbiculate to spatulate, less often lyrate or runcinate, 2–9 × 0.5–2.5 cm, (bases abruptly 0) margins entire or pinnately lobed, apices obtuse to acute, faces glabrous (glaucous).
cylindro-campanulate, 10–12 × 4–7 mm.
cylindric, 8–13 × 3–4 mm.
6–35;
corollas yellow, 10–18 mm.
9–12;
corollas yellow, purple-tinged abaxially, 9–12 mm.
8–13, lanceolate, 10–12 mm (margins yellow, scarious, eciliate), apices acute, abaxial faces usually tomentulose, sometimes glabrous, often with coarse, green or blackish setae, adaxial glabrous or with fine, appressed hairs.
8–10, (dark green or purple medially) oblong, 10–11 mm, (margins scarious, eciliate) apices acute, faces glabrous.
of 5–10, narrowly triangular to lanceolate, tomentose bractlets 1–3 mm.
of 5–10 (dark green or blackish), lanceolate, glabrous bractlets 2–3 mm.
3–30, in corymbiform arrays.
5–80+ (among or beyond leaves), in cymiform arrays.
dark or blackish green, subcylindric, 3–10 mm, apices tapered, not beaked, ribs 12–15 (distinct);
pappi whitish, 5–9 mm.
golden brown, subcylindric to fusiform, 4–7 mm, apices sometimes tapered (not beaked), ribs 10–13 (broad, smooth);
pappi (falling) bright white, 4–6 mm.
= 22, 33, 44, 55, 88.
= 14.
Crepis atribarba
Crepis nana
Crepis atribarba is generally recognized by the deeply pinnately lobed leaves with linear lobes, fine tomentulose indument on stems and leaves, setose phyllaries, and dark green, strongly ribbed cypselae. It is a variable mixture that includes polyploid, apomictic forms and hybrids with C. acuminata and other species. The typical form is recognized by its short stature, narrow pinnately lobed, tomentulose leaves, stems with 3–10 heads, and phyllaries with scattered, black, eglandular setae. Larger, more robust forms with stems 30–70 cm, 10–30+ heads, narrower involucres, and few or no black setae have been recognized as subsp. originalis. The latter was considered by E. B. Babcock (1947) to represent the original diploid form of the species; it is difficult to distinguish in practice.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Crepis nana occurs in North America and northern Asia. It is recognized by the tufted, cespitose habit, elongate roots and rhizomes, and occurrence in alpine habitats. In the typical form, the plants are tufted, the stems are not leafy, and the heads are borne among the leaves. Taller specimens with elongated, leafy branches and heads borne well beyond the basal leaves are sometimes recognized as subsp. ramosa; these characteristics appear to be part of the normal range of variation for the species.
Crepis nana is closely related to C. elegans, differing mainly in the shape of the cypselae. The cypselae of C. nana are almost always more columnar, wider at bases, and with broader ribs, than those of C. elegans.
The name Crepis nana subsp. clivicola Legge is invalid.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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