Geum rossii
Geum schofieldii
alpine avens, Ross' avens, slender stem avens
queen Charlotte avens
4–28 cm, glabrous or downy, hairs to 1 mm, sometimes septate-glandular.
13–30 cm, puberulent, hairs scattered, 0.1–1 mm.
basal 3–13 cm, blade pinnate to interruptedly pinnate, major leaflets 13–26, alternating with 0–14 minor ones, terminal leaflet slightly larger than major laterals;
cauline 0.7–2 cm, stipules adnate to leaf, indistinguishable from pair of lobes, blade bractlike, not resembling basal, alternate, simple, pinnatifid to 3-fid.
basal 5–25 cm, blade interruptedly lyrate-pinnate, major leaflets 5–7, interspersed with 2–8 minor ones increasing in size distally, terminal leaflet larger than major laterals;
cauline 1.5–4.5 cm, stipules adnate to leaf, indistinguishable from pair of lobes, blade bractlike, not resembling basal, simple, 3-fid.
1–3(–4)-flowered.
1-flowered.
woolly, sometimes glandular.
densely puberulent, sometimes glandular.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets 1.5–7 mm;
hypanthium green, slightly purple-tinged to strongly purple;
sepals erect to erect-spreading, 3–10 mm;
petals spreading, yellow, obovate to nearly orbiculate, 5–12(–17) mm, longer than sepals, apex broadly rounded to irregularly emarginate.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets 4–8 mm;
hypanthium green;
sepals erect to erect-spreading, 7–12 mm;
petals spreading, yellow, broadly obovate to nearly orbiculate, 14–16 mm, distinctly longer than sepals, apex broadly rounded to irregularly emarginate.
sessile, glabrous.
sessile, glabrous.
wholly persistent, not geniculate-jointed, 2–5(–10) mm, apex not hooked, glabrous throughout or pilose only at base.
wholly persistent, not geniculate-jointed, 7–10 mm, apex not or ± hooked, pilose only on bases.
= 56.
= 112.
Geum rossii
Geum schofieldii
The variability accommodated here in Geum rossii was distributed by earlier monographers such as P. A. Rydberg (1913b) and F. Bolle (1933) among a half dozen species. W. Gajewski (1957) reduced them to two species, G. rossii and G. turbinatum; most recent taxonomists have recognized the two taxa as subspecies or varieties of a single species. The large geographic discontinuity between the Rocky Mountain and arctic ranges makes it easy for those wishing to follow this tradition. No one morphologic character or combination of characters neatly separates the arctic plants from those of the Rockies.
Where their ranges overlap in Alaska, Geum rossii hybridizes with G. calthifolium to form sterile plants known as G. ×macranthum (Kearney ex Rydberg) B. Boivin; see discussion under 4. G. schofieldii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Geum schofieldii is one of the more attractive yet seldom seen species of avens in North America; it is known from the rocky wet mountains of the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Vancouver Island.
Because Geum schofieldii appears to be intermediate morphologically between G. calthifolium and G. rossii, some botanists have considered it to be a hybrid and included it in synonymy with G. ×macranthum [G. calthifolium × G. rossii]. The 16-ploid chromosome number (2n = 112) of G. schofieldii suggests an allopolyploid origin. Geum rossii is not known to occur in the Queen Charlotte Islands or on Vancouver Island; the plants cannot be of recent hybrid origin. Geum ×macranthum is found in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula where the two parental species overlap. Compared to G. schofieldii, its leaves are more pinnate than lyrate-pinnate, with 9 to 13 major leaflets instead of 5 to 7. Also, G. ×macranthum appears to be sterile; G. schofieldii appears to be fertile, suggesting that the latter is a valid species. The distinctness of G. schofieldii pollen also supports its specific status (R. J. Hebda and C. C. Chinnappa 1990).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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