Helianthus debilis |
Helianthus bolanderi |
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cucumberleaf sunflower, weak sunflower |
Bolander's sunflower, serpentine sunflower |
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Habit | Annuals or perennials, 30–200 cm (taprooted). | Annuals, 60–150 cm. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | decumbent to erect, glabrous, hirsute, or puberulent. |
erect, hispid to hirsute. |
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Leaves | mostly cauline; mostly alternate; petioles 1–7 cm; blades deltate-ovate, lance-ovate, or ovate, 2.5–14 × 1.8–13 cm, bases cordate to truncate or broadly cuneate, margins subentire to serrate, abaxial faces glabrate to hispid, not gland-dotted. |
mostly cauline; mostly alternate; petioles 1–4 cm; blades lance-linear or lance-ovate to ovate, 3–15 × 2–6 cm, bases cuneate to truncate, margins usually serrate, abaxial faces sparsely hirsute, gland-dotted. |
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Peduncles | 9–50 cm. |
3–13 cm. |
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Involucres | hemispheric, 10–22 mm diam. |
hemispheric, 17–25 mm diam. |
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Ray florets | 11–20; laminae 12–23 mm. |
12–17; laminae 14–20 mm. |
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Disc florets | 30+; corollas 4.5–5 mm, lobes usually reddish, sometimes yellow; anthers dark, appendages dark (style branches usually reddish, rarely yellow). |
75+ (discs usually 2+ cm diam.); corollas 5–7 mm, lobes usually reddish; anthers dark, appendages dark (style branches reddish). |
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Phyllaries | 20–30, lanceolate, 8–17 × 1–3 mm, apices acute to long-attenuate, abaxial faces glabrous or ± hispid, not gland-dotted. |
10–18, usually lanceolate to lance-ovate, 9–27 × (3–)3.5–5 mm (often surpassing discs), apices gradually attenuate, abaxial faces hirsute. |
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Heads | 1–3. |
1–3. |
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Cypselae | 2.5–3.2 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy; pappi of 2 lanceolate or lance-linear scales 1.2–2.5 mm. |
3.5–4.5 mm, glabrate; pappi of 2 lanceolate scales 1.7–3 mm. |
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Paleae | 7.5–8 mm, apices 3-toothed (middle teeth acuminate, usually glabrous or hispid, sometimes ± villous or bearded). |
9.5–10.5 mm, 3-toothed (middle teeth subulate, surpassing discs, apices glabrous). |
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2n | = 34. |
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Helianthus debilis |
Helianthus bolanderi |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–early fall. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Grassy, often disturbed sites | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 10–1200 m (0–3900 ft) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; CT; FL; GA; LA; MA; MD; MI; MS; NC; NH; NY; PA; RI; SC; TX; VA; VT; WV
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CA; OR
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Discussion | Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora). C. B. Heiser (1956) placed 8 subspecies in Helianthus debilis; he noted that alternative taxonomic treatments might recognize these in as many as three species, or expand the single species to include H. petiolaris. Later, Heiser et al. (1969) separated three of the subspecies as H. praecox. Isozyme data (R. P. Wain 1982, 1983; L. H. Rieseberg and M. F. Doyle 1989) show that all are closely related. Documented hybridization with H. annuus further complicates the situation. The treatment by Heiser et al. is followed here. Helianthus debilis is adventive beyond the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Helianthus bolanderi and H. exilis form a closely related pair of sister species that share the distinctive feature of having the middle teeth of the paleae glabrous and relatively elongated, surpassing the disc florets. As treated here, H. bolanderi corresponds to the “valley weed race” (C. B. Heiser 1949; L. H. Rieseberg et al. 1988); it is separated from the “serpentine foothill race,” here recognized as H. exilis. Heiser proposed that H. bolanderi originated through hybridization between H. annuus and H. exilis; molecular studies by Rieseberg et al. do not support this scheme. In an ironic twist, it appears that H. bolanderi may be undergoing “genetic assimilation” through hybridization with H. annuus (S. E. Carney et al. 2000). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 21, p. 150. | FNA vol. 21, p. 149. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Helianthinae > Helianthus | Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Helianthinae > Helianthus | ||||||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 367. (1841) | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 544. (1865) | ||||||||||||||||
Web links |