Douglasia laevigata
Douglasia arctica
cliff dwarf-primrose, smooth douglasia
Mackenzie River dwarf-primrose
prostrate, loosely covered with marcescent, gray to light brown leaves (becoming remote in age).
prostrate to ascending, with marcescent, imbricate, reddish leaves proximally and terminal, green leaf rosettes.
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.
erect, thin;
blade linear to linear-lanceolate, 3–10 × 0.5–2 mm, margins entire, shortly ciliolate, hairs simple, apex acute or obtuse, usually glabrous, surfaces glabrous.
2–7 mm, elongating little in fruit, minutely hairy, hairs stellate and branched.
to 2 mm in early anthesis, to 2–4 cm in fruit, minutely glandular and hairy, hairs branched, sometimes glabrescent.
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, bracteate;
bracts 1(–2), ovate-lanceolate, 1–2 × 0.5–1 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 pink, white in age, limb 5–7 mm diam., lobes 2.5–3 × 1 mm, margins entire or slightly erose.
= 38.
Douglasia laevigata
Douglasia arctica
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.)
Douglasia arctica is most common in northern Alaska and northwesternmost Canada. It can be separated from its closest relative, D. gormanii, on the basis of its looser growth habit and shortly ciliolate, otherwise glabrous leaves. Douglasia gormanii has a tight growth habit and forked and branched hairs on the leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
