Frasera albicaulis |
Frasera gypsicola |
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white-stem elkweed, white-stem frasera |
sunnyside frasera, White River or sunnyside frasera |
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| Habit | Herbs perennial, 1–6.5 dm. | Herbs perennial, 1–3.5 dm, glabrous. | ||||||||||||||||
| Stems | 1–few, with several rosettes. |
1–few from each division of the caudex, often with several rosettes. |
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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 white-margined, basal 3–8 × 0.1–0.3 cm, narrowly linear; cauline leaves opposite, blades similar to basal. |
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| Inflorescences | narrow, 1.5–4(–5) cm wide, interrupted proximally, ± continuous distally. |
narrow but not dense, few-flowered. |
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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 3–4 mm; corolla cream, dark purple-dotted, 5–9 mm, lobes lanceolate, apex acute to short-acuminate; androecial corona scales oblong, ca. 2 mm, margins subentire to ± lacerate; style slender, distinct; nectaries and foveae 1 per corolla lobe, foveae opening ± round, distal to nectaries but without a differentiated area on the corolla surface, rim deeply, evenly fringed all around. |
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Frasera albicaulis |
Frasera gypsicola |
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| Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||||||||||||||
| Habitat | Valley bottoms, in white-barren soils. | |||||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 1500–1700 m. [4900–5600 ft.] | |||||||||||||||||
| Distribution |
w United States
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NV; UT |
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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.) |
Frasera gypsicola is endemic to two small calcareous mountain areas in northeastern Nye County and adjacent White Pine County, Nevada, and western Millard County, Utah. Because of its multicipital caudex with the divisions more strongly divergent than in other Frasera species except F. coloradensis, F. gypsicola has a distinctive cespitose habit. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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| Key |
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| Synonyms | Leucocraspedum albicaule, Swertia albicaulis | Swertia gypsicola | ||||||||||||||||
| Name authority | Grisebach in W. J. Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 67, plate 154. (1837) | (Barneby) D. M. Post: Bot. GaZ. 120: 3. (1958) | ||||||||||||||||
| Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||||||||||||||
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