Flora of North America species comparison

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Harrimanella stelleriana

Harrimanella

Alaska bell-heather, Alaska moss-heather, alaskan moss-heather, alaskan mountain-heather, alpine heather

harrimanella, moss-heather, mossplant
Habit Subshrubs small; branches prostrate, spreading, or ascending, mat-forming.
Stems

forming dense, soft mats;

branches lax, tips ascending.

Leaves

divergent, not imbricate;

blade linear-oblong, 3–5 × 1–2 mm, apex obtuse to broadly acute.

densely crowded on stems;

petiole very short, leaving small pegs on stem when leaves fall off;

blade linear-oblong to subulate, margins entire or erose, surfaces glabrous.
Pedicels

to 1 cm, barely exceeding leaves at anthesis.

nodding in flower, erect in fruit, slender;

bracteoles absent.
Flowers

erect to horizontal;

sepals oblong-ovate, ca. 3 mm;

corolla white or tinged with pink, ca. 6 × 5 mm, lobes distinct for ca. 1/2+ their lengths, tips not recurved;

stamens to 3 mm.

sepals distinct or connate basally, ovate to oblong-ovate;

petals connate ca. 1/2 their lengths, white or tinged with pink, apex blunt;

stamens not exserted;

filaments swollen at base;

anthers inverted at anthesis, with awns;

ovary globose to ovoid;

style ovoid or conic;

stigma simple.
Capsules

4–5 mm diam.

borne on erect pedicels, globose to ovoid, dehiscent basipetally.
x

= 16.

Harrimanella stelleriana

Harrimanella
Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Alpine meadows, rocky slopes, subalpine or alpine
Elevation 0-1900 m (0-6200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; WA; BC; YT; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
North America; n Europe; n Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves divergent, blade linear-oblong, apex obtuse to broadly acute; pedicels barely exceeding leaves at anthesis; capsules 4-5 mm diam.
H. stelleriana
1. Leaves loosely appressed, blade linear to subulate, apex acute; pedicels 3+ times longer than leaves at anthesis; capsules 2-3.5 mm diam.
H. hypnoides
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 495. FNA vol. 8, p. 494. Author: Gary D. Wallace.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Harrimanelloideae > Harrimanella Ericaceae > subfam. Harrimanelloideae
Sibling taxa
H. hypnoides
Subordinate taxa
H. hypnoides, H. stelleriana
Synonyms Andromeda stelleriana, Cassiope stelleriana
Name authority (Pallas) Coville: Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci. 3: 574. 1901 , Coville: Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci. 3: 570, figs. 62, 66. 1901 ,
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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