Frasera tubulosa |
Frasera montana |
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Kern frasera |
white frasera |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, (0.6–)2–11 dm, glabrous. | Herbs perennial, 2.5–8 dm, glabrous or stems and leaf bases minutely puberulent. |
Stems | generally 1, with 0–few rosettes. |
1–several, with several rosettes. |
Leaf | blades white-margined; basal oblanceolate, 2–9 × 0.3–1(–1.5) cm, apex abruptly pointed; cauline leaves whorled, distal blades linear-oblong. |
blades white-margined; basal narrowly spatulate-oblanceolate to lanceolate, 7–30 × 0.5–1.5 cm; cauline leaves opposite, blades narrowly lanceolate to linear. |
Inflorescences | elongate, dense, branching near base of main stem, nearly continuous distally. |
narrow, 1.5–4 cm wide, dense. |
Flowers | calyx 6–11 mm; corolla white to pale blue, veins darker, campanulate, 8–13 mm, lobes elliptic-oblong to obovate, apex short-acuminate; androecial corona scales narrowly oblong, 2–3 mm, margins fringed; style slender, distinct; nectaries and foveae 1 per corolla lobe, foveae round at base, opening directly adaxial to nectary, without a differentiated area on the corolla surface, rim prolonged into an appendage ca. 3 mm, proximally tubular, dividing distally into 2 oblong, fringed lobes. |
calyx 3–6(–8) mm; corolla white to cream, unmarked, 5–9 mm, lobes elliptic-ovate, apex rounded, apiculate; androecial corona scales obovate-oblong, 1–2 mm, margins nearly entire to deeply lacerate or fringelike; style slender, distinct; nectaries and foveae 1 per lobe, foveae opening into an elliptic-obovate to suborbiculate differentiated area on the corolla surface, rim ± evenly fringed all around. |
Frasera tubulosa |
Frasera montana |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Open pine woods. | Dry mountain meadows, sagebrush slopes, open pine woods. |
Elevation | 1800–2700 m. (5900–8900 ft.) | 1200–2000 m. (3900–6600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA
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ID
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Discussion | Frasera tubulosa is endemic to Inyo and Tulare counties. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Frasera montana is endemic to the mountains of western Idaho. Frasera montana appears to be closely related to F. albicaulis and might be treated as another variety of that species, but its proportionately wide corolla lobes with rounded rather than acute to acuminate apices, reminiscent of the petals of apple blossoms, give the flowers of this attractive species a distinctive appearance. The differentiated areas on the corolla surface into which the foveae open are elliptic to nearly round and are proportionately shorter than those of any variety of F. albicaulis. Frasera montana might most readily be confused with F. albicaulis var. idahoensis, which likewise usually has unspotted corollas, but it can be distinguished not only by the shape of its corolla lobes but also by the differentiated areas on its corolla lobes with rims that are more or less evenly long-fringed all around; those of all varieties of F. albicaulis are distally more shallowly or not fringed. The androecial corona scales of both species are variable, but those of F. montana are generally cleft more or less longitudinally, if at all, whereas those of F. albicaulis var. idahoensis (but not all varieties of F. albicaulis) usually bear lateral as well as terminal lobes or fringes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | Gentianaceae > Frasera | Gentianaceae > Frasera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Swertia tubulosa | Swertia montana, Leucocraspedum montanum |
Name authority | Coville: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 7: 71. (1892) | Mulford: Bot. GaZ. 19: 119. (1894) |
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