Geum macrophyllum
Geum vernum
benoîte à grandes feuilles, bigleaf avens, large-leaf avens
heartleaf avens, spring avens
30–110 cm, puberulent and hirsute or sparsely hirsute.
20–70 cm, pilose or sparsely pilose, hairs septate.
basal 10–45 cm, blade interruptedly lyrate-pinnate, major leaflets 5–9, alternating with 4–15 minor ones, terminal leaflet usually much larger than major laterals;
cauline 2–12 cm, stipules ± free, 7–23 × 3–12 mm, blade lyrate-pinnate, pinnate, 3-foliolate, or simple and 3-lobed.
basal 4–27 cm, blade simple or pinnate, leaflets 3–11, terminal leaflet larger;
cauline 2–7 cm, stipules ± free, 8–25 × 7–12 mm, blade pinnate to 3-foliolate.
3–16-flowered.
3–13-flowered.
densely puberulent, sometimes with scattered longer hairs, sometimes stipitate-glandular.
glandular-downy, becoming glabrate in fruit.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets often absent, 0.5–2 mm;
hypanthium green;
sepals erect-spreading but soon reflexed, 2.5–5.5 mm;
petals spreading, yellow, obovate, broadly elliptic, or suborbiculate, 3.5–7 mm, longer than sepals, apex rounded.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets absent;
hypanthium green;
sepals reflexed, 1–3 mm;
petals spreading, yellow to cream, oblong to elliptic, sometimes obovate, 1–2 mm, equal to or shorter than sepals, apex rounded.
sessile or on less than 1 mm stipes, puberulent.
on 3–7 mm stipes, glabrous.
geniculate-jointed, proximal segment persistent, 2.5–6 mm, apex hooked, sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, distal segment deciduous, 1–2 mm, pilose in basal 1/3, hairs much longer than diam. of style.
geniculate-jointed, proximal segment persistent, 1.5–3 mm, apex hooked, nearly glabrous except for few septate-glandular hairs, distal segment deciduous, 0.7–1 mm, nearly glabrous except for short hairs.
= 42.
Geum macrophyllum
Geum vernum
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Characters useful in recognizing specimens of Geum macrophyllum are yellow petals, epicalyx bractlets often absent, proximal style segment sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, and fruiting receptacles puberulent. Across its broad North American range from Alaska to California and Nova Scotia, G. macrophyllum exhibits considerable variation. Based largely on the shape of the terminal leaflet of the basal leaves and the degree of dissection and shape of the divisions of the distal cauline leaves, P. A. Rydberg (1913b) distinguished three species within the range of variation treated here as one species. Basal leaves of G. macrophyllum in the strict sense (var. macrophyllum in this treatment) have relatively large reniform to rounded terminal leaflets and the distal cauline leaves are three-cleft into rhombic or cuneate lobes. The basal-leaf terminal leaflets of G. perincisum (= var. perincisum) are only slightly larger than the laterals and are deeply lobed into rhombic-obovate segments; the distal cauline leaves are dissected into oblanceolate divisions. Both basal and cauline leaves of G. oregonense (= var. perincisum) are intermediate between those of G. macrophyllum and G. perincisum. W. Gajewski (1955) crossed all three taxa under discussion and examined leaf morphology and cytology of the F1 and F2 hybrids. He concluded that they were distinct but not yet completely separated species. Fairly well correlated with the more dissected leaves of G. oregonense and G. perincisum is the presence of minute stalked glands on the pedicels. The treatment here follows H. M. Raup (1931) in recognizing two varieties of G. macrophyllum based more on pedicel glandularity than leaf morphology.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Geum vernum is distinctive and is recognized by its early flowering, minute petals, lack of epicalyx bractlets, and heads of achenes soon elevated well beyond the recurved hypanthia and sepals. Recently, it has been expanding its range northward and has been collected with increasing frequency in southern Ontario, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin. No specimens could be located to confirm reports of G. vernum from Mississippi or Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Pedicels not glandular-puberulent; cauline leaves with distal simple and 3-lobed (divided less than 3/4 to base), lobes rhombic-oblong. | var. macrophyllum |
1. Pedicels glandular-puberulent; cauline leaves with distal 3-foliolate or simple and 3-lobed (divided almost to base), lobes oblanceolate to obovate. | var. perincisum |
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