Drymocallis lactea
Drymocallis convallaria
Nevada cinquefoil, Sierran woodbeauty
cordilleran drymocallis or wood beauty, cordilleran woodbeauty, cream cinquefoil, sharp tooth cinquefoil, valley cinquefoil, white cinquefoil
short.
short.
tufted, (0.3–)1.5–6(–6.5) dm;
base 1–2.5 mm diam., not or sparsely, sometimes moderately, septate-glandular.
usually solitary, sometimes tufted, 4–9(–10) dm;
base 2–5 mm diam., ± densely septate-glandular.
usually sparsely to moderately hairy, sometimes glabrate;
basal (2–)5–20(–30) cm, leaflet pairs (2–)3–4(–5);
terminal leaflet broadly obovate to cuneate, 1–4 × 0.7–3.5 cm, teeth usually single, 4–10(–14) per side, apex usually rounded to obtuse, rarely acute;
cauline 1–2, reduced, leaflet pairs 2–3.
sparsely to moderately, rarely densely, hairy;
basal (10–)15–25(–30) cm, leaflet pairs (2–)3–4;
terminal leaflet usually obovate, sometimes elliptic, 3–5(–6) × 1.5–4.5 cm, teeth double, 9–16 per side, apex rounded-obtuse;
cauline (1–)2–4, well developed at least proximally, leaflet pairs usually 3.
(2–)5–30(–50)-flowered, not leafy, open, (1/6–)1/5–1/2(–4/5) of stem, narrow to wide, branch angles 10–40(–50)°.
(5–)10–40-flowered, not leafy, congested to open, (1/8–)1/6–1/3(–1/2) of stem, narrow, branch angles 5–20°.
2–10 (proximal to 30) mm, predominantly short-hairy, sometimes velutinous, not or sparsely, sometimes moderately, septate-glandular.
1–5 (proximal to 25) mm, sparsely to ± densely short-hairy, predominantly septate-glandular.
opening widely;
epicalyx bractlets linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 2–5 × 0.5–1.5 mm;
sepals spreading, 3–8(–9) mm, apex usually acute, sometimes obtuse and apiculate;
petals ± overlapping, spreading, cream-white to bright yellow, broadly obovate, (3–)4–8(–10) × 3–8 mm, usually longer than, rarely equal to, sepals;
filaments 1–3(–3.5) mm, anthers 0.6–1 mm;
styles thickened, 1 mm.
opening ± widely;
epicalyx bractlets narrowly elliptic, (2–)4–6 × 0.7–1.5 mm;
sepals ± spreading, (4–)5–8(–10) mm, apex acute;
petals not or scarcely overlapping, ± spreading, cream-white to pale yellow, obovate-elliptic, sometimes broadly so, (3–)5–8 × (2–)4–6 mm, ± equal to sepals;
filaments 1.5–2.5 mm, anthers 0.7–1 mm;
styles thickened, 0.8 mm.
light brown, 1 mm.
light brown, 1 mm.
Drymocallis lactea
Drymocallis convallaria
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Drymocallis lactea has had a well-established identity as Potentilla glandulosa var. (or subsp.) nevadensis; however, the epithet lactea has priority at species rank and avoids possible confusion with P. nevadensis Boissier. D. D. Keck (in J. Clausen et al. 1940) based his concept of P. glandulosa subsp. nevadensis on white-petaled plants with narrow inflorescences, the common form in the central Sierra Nevada and south. His map and annotations, however, include populations with yellow petals and widely branched inflorescences from northern California and adjacent Oregon. The two extremes merge in the northern Sierra Nevada, and populations in the North Coast Ranges of California also are problematic; the extremes are accordingly treated here as varieties of a single species. The inclusion by Keck of Washington in the species range might have been based on specimens here assigned to P. pseudorupestris.
Drymocallis lactea can be distinguished from sympatric species by its relatively large, overlapping petals, non-leafy inflorescences, and singly toothed leaflets. Pedicels and distal stems are usually densely short-hairy with relatively few or no glandular hairs (in contrast to D. pseudorupestris), and septate glands are usually absent from stem bases (in contrast to D. hansenii). The distinction between D. lactea and D. pseudorupestris breaks down at the margin of the species range in Nevada and Oregon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Drymocallis convallaria is widespread in western North America, occurring mostly west of the Continental Divide from south-central Alaska to Arizona. It differs from most sympatric species in usually having a single thick stem, a narrow inflorescence, and cream-white to pale yellow petals, at most only slightly longer than the sepals.
Some collections from southern Idaho and northern Nevada that have very small petals in the size range of Drymocallis micropetala are included here on the basis of glandular pedicels. Excluded here are comparably small-petaled plants from the Warner Mountains of California and Oregon that have the aspect of D. convallaria but the blunter, redder achenes of D. glandulosa. Populations in northern Idaho and adjacent Washington that approach D. arguta in size and vestiture are provisionally treated as D. convallaria on the basis of leaflet shape. Specimens from New Mexico previously assigned to this taxon have largely been redetermined to D. arguta in the strict sense. See also discussions of Potentilla fissa var. major under 1. D. fissa, and of D. valida under the genus discussion. The illegitimate names P. glutinosa Nuttall ex Rydberg and D. glutinosa Rydberg have been applied most often to D. convallaria.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Inflorescences narrow, branch angles 10–20°; petals cream-white to pale yellowish; pedicels and stems not or sparsely septate-glandular. | var. lactea |
1. Inflorescences wide, branch angles mostly 20–40°; petals usually pale to bright yellow; pedicels and stems sometimes moderately septate-glandular. | var. austiniae |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
