Frasera albicaulis |
Frasera speciosa |
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white-stem elkweed, white-stem frasera |
deer's-ears, elkweed, frasera, giant frasera, monument plant |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, 1–6.5 dm. | Herbs monocarpic, 5–20 dm, glabrous or stems and leaves puberulent. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | 1–few, with several rosettes. |
1. |
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Leaf | blades narrowly white-margined; basal oblanceolate, 4–23 × 0.3–1.2(–2) cm, basal leaves generally longer than lowest internode; cauline leaves opposite, proximal blades oblanceolate to oblong, distal linear-oblong. |
blades not white-margined; basal spatulate or oblanceolate to elliptic-obovate, 7–50 × 1–15 cm, apex rounded to acute; cauline leaves whorled, blade oblong-lanceolate. |
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Inflorescences | narrow, 1.5–4(–5) cm wide, interrupted proximally, ± continuous distally. |
elongate, open proximally, ± dense distally. |
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Flowers | calyx 3–7(–12) mm; corolla greenish white to pale or medium blue, usually dark blue- to purple-dotted and/or with a dark blue, purple, or green central stripe (except in var. idahoensis), 6–12 mm, lobes oblong-obovate-elliptic, widest near midlength, abruptly tapering to acute to short-acuminate apex; androecial corona scales present, variable among the varieties; style slender, distinct; nectaries and foveae 1 per corolla lobe, foveae distal to nectary, opening into an elliptic-oblong to lance-ovate differentiated area on the corolla surface, rim fringed all around but with fringes shorter distally, or not fringed toward distal end. |
calyx 10–25 mm; corolla pale yellowish green, purple-dotted, occasionally suffused with purple distally, 12–25 mm, lobes elliptic-oblong to obovate, apex [obtuse or] acute to short-acuminate; androecial corona scales 7–9 mm, deeply multicleft; style slender, distinct; nectaries and foveae 2 per corolla lobe, foveae narrowly elliptic, opening directly adaxial to nectary, each opening with a ± even fringe all around, the pair opening into a green but not rimmed area on the corolla surface. |
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2n | = 78. |
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Frasera albicaulis |
Frasera speciosa |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Open woods, montane to subalpine meadows. | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 1500–3500 m. (4900–11500 ft.) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
w United States
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AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
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Discussion | Varieties 5 (5 in the flora). Frasera albicaulis varies in vegetative and abaxial corolla puberulence and in the size and dissection of the androecial corona. It has sometimes been divided into several species and additional varieties, but, from the material available for study at the time of this writing, it appears appropriate to recognize only five varieties, although F. ackermaniae might be considered for inclusion at varietal rank. Each of these varieties has a more or less distinct geographic range, but some intergrade. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Swertia radiata var. maderensis Henrickson, endemic to Mexico, is conspecific with Frasera speciosa, but the necessary combination in Frasera has not been published. If that is done, our material will become var. speciosa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Gentianaceae > Frasera | Gentianaceae > Frasera | ||||||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | Leucocraspedum albicaule, Swertia albicaulis | F. macrophylla, Swertia radiata, Swertia radiata var. macrophylla, Tesseranthium radiatum, T. speciosum | ||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Grisebach in W. J. Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 67, plate 154. (1837) | Douglas ex Grisebach in W. J. Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 66, plate 153. (1837) | ||||||||||||||||
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