Douglasia laevigata
Douglasia alaskana
cliff dwarf-primrose, smooth douglasia
alaskan douglasia
prostrate, loosely covered with marcescent, gray to light brown leaves (becoming remote in age).
ascending, without marcescent leaves.
spreading, thin;
blade oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate to spatulate, 5–20 × 2–6 mm, margins entire or slightly toothed, sometimes ciliolate, hairs simple, apex obtuse to slightly acute, surfaces glabrous.
in single rosette, horizontal, thin;
blade cuneate to oblong, 5–15 × 3–8 mm, margins entire, shortly ciliolate, hairs simple, apex acute or remotely 3-toothed, ciliate, hairs simple, abaxial surface densely villous, hairs simple, adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely villous.
2–7 mm, elongating little in fruit, minutely hairy, hairs stellate and branched.
to 10 mm in early anthesis, elongating to 1–10 cm in fruit, densely hairy at apex, hairs branched and stellate.
2–10-flowered, bracteate;
bracts 3–8, lanceolate to ovate, 3–8 × 1–3 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs minute, branched.
1–2-flowered, usually bracteate, sometimes ebracteate;
bracts 1–5, lanceolate, 3–5 × 3–5 mm, glabrous.
2–15 mm.
absent.
calyx 6–7 × 3–4 mm, stellate-pubescent;
corolla rose-pink, violet in age, limb 8–15 mm diam., lobes 3–4 × 2–3 mm, margins entire or erose.
calyx 3–6 × 3–4 mm, glabrous;
corolla deep purple, white in age, limb 3–5 mm diam., lobes 1–3 × 1 mm, margins entire.
= 38.
Douglasia laevigata
Douglasia alaskana
Although the first collection of Douglasia laevigata was from the “Mountains near Mt. Hood,” the original description of the species was based on plants collected in the Columbia River gorge, which thus represent the nomenclaturally typical variety (L. Constance 1938), even though that entity constitutes an ecological variant with almost glabrous leaves and loose umbels known only from the gorge. The widespread form, var. ciliolata, has more compact umbels and larger, more toothed, conspicuously ciliolate leaves. Because intermediate forms occur commonly, and even the type specimen of D. laevigata has cilia, the infraspecific taxa are not recognized here.
A population of Douglasia laevigata from Cone Peak in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon has been reported as heterostylous due to the occurrence of a protruding “pin type” stigma from the corolla throat; this represents only a local stigmatic anomaly functioning as minor spatial separation of anthers and stigma in early anthesis rather than true heterostyly as seen in Primula. No stigmatic or pollen dimorphisms occur in these plants and no parallel “thrum type” flowers are known.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The single rosettes of Douglasia alaskana are not characteristic of any other species of the genus; they are common in Androsace sect. Aretia, where annual/biennial growth habit appears to have evolved multiple times. Chromosome number, pubescence, and seed anatomy (A. A. Anderberg and S. Kelso 1996) link this taxon to other species of Douglasia. Plants described as var. reediae differ only in the marginally thinner scapes and less noticeably toothed leaves. Because this variation is well within that shown by the species throughout its range in western and southern Alaska, the variety is not recognized here. Douglasia alaskana is widespread but somewhat uncommon in the mountains of southern Alaska and southern Yukon; disjunct populations occur in western Alaska on the Seward Peninsula. Presence in British Columbia was suggested by a misidentified specimen (Carney s.n., 13 Jun 1976, V) from Atlin Lake; D. alaskana is not yet known from that province.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
