Flora of North America species comparison

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Gratiola

hedge-hyssop, hyssop
Habit Herbs, annual or perennial.
Stems

decumbent to ascending or erect, glabrous or glandular-hairy.
Leaves

cauline (also basal and clustered in G. amphiantha), opposite, monomorphic (dimorphic in G. amphiantha);

petiole absent;

blade not fleshy, not leathery, margins entire or toothed, surfaces often glandular-punctate.
Inflorescences

axillary, flowers 1 or 2 per node;

bracts present.
Pedicels

present, sometimes short;

bracteoles present or absent, sepal-like.
Flowers

bisexual;

sepals 5, distinct or proximally connate, calyx ± bilaterally symmetric, campanulate, lobes (sepals when distinct) linear to lanceolate, obovate, or oblong;

corolla white, cream, or yellow, sometimes pinkish, tube yellowish, brownish, or purplish, often with dark veins, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate, tubular, tube base not spurred or gibbous, lobes 5, abaxial 3, adaxial 2, nearly completely connate and appearing as 1 emarginate lobe, throat glabrous or pubescent;

stamens 2, medially adnate to corolla, filaments glabrous, pollen sacs perpendicular to filaments, connective dilated;

staminodes 0 or 2, minute;

ovary 2-locular, placentation axile;

stigma capitate or lamelliform.
Fruits

capsules, dehiscence septicidal, sometimes also loculicidal.
Seeds

ca. 200, yellow to brown or black, oblong to obpyramidal or short-cylindric, wings absent.
× = 9.

Gratiola
Distribution
from USDA
North America; Mexico; South America; Central America (Guatemala); Europe; e Asia (Japan); Africa (Morocco); Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 30 (13 in the flora).

Members of Gratiola sometimes are confused with Lindernia and Mecardonia. Sophronanthe often is included in Gratiola; molecular and morphological data support separating the two as sister genera (D. Estes 2008).

This treatment was prepared in part from information contained in a partial manuscript submitted by D. Estes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Capsules bilaterally symmetric; leaves dimorphic, submersed blades usually narrower than floating blades.
G. amphiantha
1. Capsules ± radially symmetric; leaves monomorphic, submersed blades absent or, if present, similar to emersed blades.
→ 2
2. Perennials.
→ 3
3. Bracteoles 0 or 1; leaf blades linear-lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 1–3 mm wide, margins entire or with 1 or 2(or 3) pairs of blunt teeth.
G. ramosa
3. Bracteoles (1 or)2; if 1, leaf blades lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, ovate, or oblong, rarely linear-lanceolate, (1–)3–8(–13) mm wide, margins with (1 or)2–4 pairs of sharp teeth.
→ 4
4. Corolla limbs yellow, rarely white or cream, veins yellow to orangish yellow, rarely white; pedicels sparsely glandular-puberulent.
G. lutea
4. Corolla limbs white, veins yellow, brownish yellow, blue, or lavender; pedicels sparsely to densely glandular-puberulent to glandular-pubescent.
→ 5
5. Leaf blade margins with (1 or)2–4 pairs of teeth, blades lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate or oblong; corolla veins yellow or brownish yellow; sepals linear-lanceolate.
G. brevifolia
5. Leaf blade margins with (3–)5–10(–12) pairs of teeth, blades lanceolate-ovate to ovate or oblong, rarely linear-lanceolate in submersed forms; corolla veins blue or lavender; sepals lanceolate to elliptic or ovate-lanceolate.
G. viscidula
2. Annuals.
→ 6
6. Bracteoles 0; w North America.
→ 7
7. Calyces slightly bilaterally symmetric, sepals distinct, (4–)7–11 mm, lanceolate; leaf blade apices acuminate to attenuate.
G. ebracteata
7. Calyces distinctly bilaterally symmetric, sepals connate proximally, lobes 3.5–6 mm, elliptic-oblanceolate; leaf blade apices obtuse to rounded.
G. heterosepala
6. Bracteoles 1 or 2; e, c, or w North America.
→ 8
8. Corolla limbs yellow; capsules ovoid.
G. torreyi
8. Corolla limbs white, sometimes tinged pink, lavender, or purple; capsules ovoid to short-cylindric or subglobular.
→ 9
9. Pedicels stout, 1–12 mm, lengths 0.1–0.3 times bracts.
G. virginiana
9. Pedicels slender, (5–)7–45(–55) mm, lengths (0.3–)0.4–2(–2.3) times bracts.
→ 10
10. Corollas 14–25 mm; pedicels 20–45(–55) mm.
G. floridana
10. Corollas 7–12 mm; pedicels (5–)7–35 mm.
→ 11
11. Leaf blades 6–13(–18) mm; pedicel lengths 0.9–2(–2.3) times bracts; granite outcrops.
G. graniticola
11. Leaf blades 10–65 mm; pedicel lengths (0.3–)0.4–1(–1.6) times bracts; wet meadows, stream banks, shores of ponds, mudflats, salt marshes, crop fields, seeps, pools, and streams in limestone and dolomite glades, calcareous grasslands.
→ 12
12. Leaf blades linear to narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate, or elliptic-obovate, rarely falcate, 3–11(–18) mm wide, margins with (1 or)2–5(–7) pairs of blunt to sharp teeth, rarely entire; wet meadows, stream banks, shores of ponds, mudflats, salt marshes, crop fields.
G. neglecta
12. Leaf blades linear to linear-lanceolate or lanceolate-elliptic, often falcate, (1–)2.5–5 mm wide, margins entire or with 1 or 2(or 3) pairs of blunt teeth distally; seeps, pools, and streams in limestone and dolomite glades, calcareous grasslands.
G. quartermaniae
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 264. Author: Craig C. Freeman.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae
Subordinate taxa
G. amphiantha, G. brevifolia, G. ebracteata, G. floridana, G. graniticola, G. heterosepala, G. lutea, G. neglecta, G. quartermaniae, G. ramosa, G. torreyi, G. virginiana, G. viscidula
Synonyms Amphianthus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 17. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 11. (1754)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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