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dusky, horkelia, pinewoods, pinewoods horkelia, tawny horkelia

California horkelia

Habit Plants ± tufted, green.
Stems

ascending to erect, (1–)5–10(–12) dm, hairs ± spreading.

Basal leaves

(3–)4–20(–40) × (1–)1.5–4(–7) cm;

leaflets narrowly cuneate to obovate to flabellate, 5–30(–35) × 2–20(–30) mm, 1/3 as wide to wider than long, divided into linear or oblanceolate to obovate teeth or lobes, sparsely to ± densely short-villous or hirsute, sometimes glabrate.

planar, (5–)8–40(–50) × 1.5–11 cm;

stipules entire;

leaflets 3–9 per side, separate to slightly overlapping, ovate to round or broadly elliptic, 5–60 × (7–)10–30(–40) mm, 1/2 to as wide as long, unlobed or irregularly cleft 1/6–3/4+ to midrib into 5–15 linear or oblanceolate to obovate coarsely toothed lobes, collectively 10–60-toothed, pilose to villous.

Cauline leaves

1–5(or 6).

4–10.

Inflorescences

± open, flowers arranged individually and in glomerules.

Pedicels

1–20 mm.

Flowers

5–12 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets 1–3 mm, 1/2 length of to nearly equal to sepals;

hypanthium 1–3 × 2–4 mm, 1/2 to nearly as deep as wide;

sepals spreading to ± reflexed, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, (1.7–)2–4(–4.5) mm;

petals 2–6(–6.5) mm;

filaments 0.2–1.5 × (0.2–)0.4–0.6(–1) mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm;

styles 0.9–1.5 mm.

8–15 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets narrowly oblong to ovate, 4–6(–8) × 1–2.5 mm, ± equal to sepals, entire or toothed;

hypanthium 3–5.5 × 4–10 mm, 1/2 to nearly as deep as wide, interior glabrous or pilose;

sepals spreading, lanceolate, 4–6.5(–8) mm;

petals oblanceolate to elliptic or oblong, 3–8 × 1–4 mm, apex obtuse to rounded;

filaments 0.5–3 × 0.2–1.5 mm, anthers (0.8–)1.3–1.8 mm;

carpels (50–)80–200(–220);

styles 2–4 mm.

Achenes

brown.

brown, 0.8–1 mm, smooth or slightly rugose.

Horkelia fusca

Horkelia californica

Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA; WY
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 7 (7 in the flora).

Horkelia fusca represents the primary radiation of the genus beyond the California Floristic Province. Within California, H. fusca occurs in the Sierra Nevada and mountains of northern California, and it is the only representative of the genus extending beyond California and Oregon into Washington, Idaho, Nevada [with the possible exception of H. tridentata (10e. sect. Tridentatae) in Washoe County], and, questionably, Wyoming.

As here circumscribed, Horkelia fusca is the most diverse, most widely distributed species in the genus, with significant additional work needed to fully elucidate its variation patterns. The treatment presented here differs from that of D. D. Keck (1938) and B. Ertter (1993d) in using the rank variety instead of subspecies, circumscribing var. capitata more narrowly, and transferring the application of var. pseudocapitata from what is here called var. brownii to the bulk of what had been subsp. capitata (Lindley) D. D. Keck (B. Ertter and J. L. Reveal 2007).

There are two types of basal leaves in plants of Horkelia fusca. The ephemeral early-season leaves have leaflets that tend to be broadly cuneate-obovate, shallowly toothed, densely glandular but otherwise sparsely hairy, and deeply veined. The leaf features described below are drawn from the more persistent, mid season leaves that predominate at peak flowering and differ more strongly among varieties.

Petals of first-formed flowers are often larger than average; end-of-season petals can be smaller than average.

Although Montana is sometimes included in the range of Horkelia fusca, such references are based only on potential occurrence (W. E. Booth and J. C. Wright 1959).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Plants of Horkelia californica have the largest hypanthia in the genus, and the hypanthia are significantly deeper than others that are equally wide. Other unique features include the often toothed bractlets and the slightly clawed petals that are often inwardly curved with undulate margins. These features also help to distinguish the species from Drymocallis glandulosa, with which it is often confused: both species have a similar gross morphology and overlapping ranges and habitats.

The three varieties recognized here were treated as distinct species by D. D. Keck (1938). The existence of intermediate populations makes varietal status the preferred option.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Horkelia > sect. Capitatae Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Horkelia > sect. Horkelia
Sibling taxa
H. bolanderi, H. californica, H. clevelandii, H. congesta, H. cuneata, H. daucifolia, H. hendersonii, H. hispidula, H. howellii, H. marinensis, H. parryi, H. rydbergii, H. sericata, H. tenuiloba, H. tridentata, H. truncata, H. tularensis, H. wilderae, H. yadonii
H. bolanderi, H. clevelandii, H. congesta, H. cuneata, H. daucifolia, H. fusca, H. hendersonii, H. hispidula, H. howellii, H. marinensis, H. parryi, H. rydbergii, H. sericata, H. tenuiloba, H. tridentata, H. truncata, H. tularensis, H. wilderae, H. yadonii
Subordinate taxa
H. fusca var. brownii, H. fusca var. capitata, H. fusca var. filicoides, H. fusca var. fusca, H. fusca var. parviflora, H. fusca var. pseudocapitata, H. fusca var. tenella
H. californica var. californica, H. californica var. elata, H. californica var. frondosa
Key
1. Leaflets divided ± 1/2–3/4+ to midrib
→ 2
1. Leaflets divided less than 1/2 to midrib
→ 4
2. Inflorescences usually with flowers arranged individually; sw Oregon.
var. filicoides
2. Inflorescences composed of 3–20-flowered glomerules, (flowers rarely arranged individually in var. fusca); ne California, nw Oregon, sw Washington
→ 3
3. Leaflets divided ± 1/2 to midrib, 5–18(–20) × 4–15 mm; petals 3–5 mm; filaments 0.5–1.3 mm, longer than wide; nw Oregon, sw Washington.
var. fusca
3. Leaflets divided 3/4+ to midrib, 5–10(–15) × 2–10(–20) mm; petals 2–3(–4) mm; filaments 0.2–0.5 mm, wider than long; ne California.
var. tenella
4. Leaves grayish, surfaces often obscured, ± densely short-villous; leaflets narrowly to broadly cuneate, usually 1/3–1/2 as wide as long; ne California, adjacent Oregon and Nevada.
var. brownii
4. Leaves green, surfaces not obscured, ± short-hirsute, villous, or glabrate; leaflets cuneate to broadly obovate, 1/2 to wider than long; California to Washington, Idaho, Wyoming
→ 5
5. Inflorescences dark reddish purple, densely congested, bracts acuminate-lobed, obscuring pedicels and flowers even at maturity, glandular hairs usually conspicuously red-septate; epicalyx bractlets (2–)3.5–5(–6) mm; cauline leaves 3–6, leaflets of proximalmost 3–5 per side; ne Oregon, se Washington, n Idaho.
var. capitata
5. Inflorescences green to reddish purple, congested to open, bracts acute-lobed, not obscuring pedicels and flowers at maturity, glandular hairs not or obscurely red-septate; epicalyx bractlets 1–3.5(–4) mm; cauline leaves 1–4(or 5), leaflets of proximalmost 2–4(or 5) per side; Cascade-Sierra axis of Oregon, California, e to Wyoming and n Nevada
→ 6
6. Petals (3–)4–6 mm; leaflets 10–30(–35) × (5–)10–20(–25) mm; epicalyx bractlets 2–3.5(–4) mm; mountains in and bordering n Intermountain Region, ne California, n Nevada, se Oregon, s Idaho.
var. pseudocapitata
6. Petals 2–4.5(–6.5) mm; leaflets 5–15(–20) × (2–)5–10(–15) mm; epicalyx bractlets 1–2(–3) mm; Sierra Nevada, California and Nevada, to Cascade Ranges, c Oregon, and mountains of c Idaho, adjacent Wyoming.
var. parviflora
1. Lateral leaflets 3 or 4 per side, broadly elliptic to ovate, unlobed or cleft 1/6–1/4 to midrib.
var. frondosa
1. Lateral leaflets 4–9 per side, ovate to round, cleft ± 1/2–3/4+ to midrib
→ 2
2. Hypanthium interior ± pilose; sepals often red-mottled adaxially; lateral leaflets cleft ± 1/2(–3/4) to midrib; styles 3–4 mm.
var. californica
2. Hypanthium interior glabrous; sepals not red-mottled adaxially; lateral leaflets cleft 1/2–3/4+ to midrib; styles 2–3 mm.
var. elata
Synonyms Potentilla douglasii Potentilla californica
Name authority Lindley: Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 23: plate 1997. (1837) Chamisso & Schlechtendal: Linnaea 2: 26. (1827)
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 259. Treatment authors: Barbara Ertter, James L. Reveal. FNA vol. 9, p. 256. Treatment authors: Barbara Ertter, James L. Reveal.
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