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Point Reyes horkelia

Howell's horkelia, silky horkelia

Habit Plants matted, green to grayish. Plants ± tufted, silvery.
Stems

± decumbent to ascending, 1–3.5(–4.5) dm, hairs spreading to ascending.

ascending to erect, 1.5–4.5 dm, hairs 1 mm proximally, glands absent or sparse distally.

Basal leaves

± planar to nearly cylindric, 4–12(–15) × 1–2.5(–3) cm;

stipules entire or basally lobed;

leaflets 5–10(–12) per side, ± overlapping especially distally, cuneate, 7–12 × 5–10 mm, nearly as wide as long, divided 1/3–1/2 to midrib into (3–)5–10 acute to obtuse teeth, villous.

± cylindric to weakly planar, 3–10 × 0.3–1.2 cm, densely sericeous, often villous on margins apically;

stipules usually entire or forked, rarely pinnately divided into linear lobes;

leaflets (8–)10–20 per side, ± overlapping, elliptic to flabellate, 2–8 × 1–4 mm, 1/2–2/3 as wide as long, divided ± 1/2+ to midrib into (0–)2–4 elliptic lobes 1–2 mm wide, these not restricted to apex.

Cauline leaves

3–5.

(2 or)3–5;

stipules 3–8 mm, entire or shallowly 1–2-toothed.

Inflorescences

usually congested, flowers usually arranged in dense corymbiform clusters.

open, flowers arranged individually and/or in non-capitate glomerules.

Pedicels

1–6 mm.

1–4 mm.

Flowers

10–15 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets lanceolate, 2.5–4.5 × 1 mm, ± 2/3 length of sepals, entire;

hypanthium 1.2–1.5 × 4–5 mm, less than 1/2 as deep as wide, interior pilose;

sepals ± reflexed, lanceolate, 3–6 mm;

petals narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly oblong, 4–7 × 2 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, rarely truncate;

filaments 1–2.8 × 0.2–0.6 mm, anthers 0.6–0.9 mm;

carpels 20–30;

styles 2–4 mm.

10 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets linear-lanceolate, 1.5–3 × 0.5 mm, ± 2/3 length of sepals;

hypanthium 1–1.5 × 2–3 mm, ± 1/2 to as deep as wide, interior glabrous;

sepals spreading to reflexed, abaxially green to reddish or purplish, 2–4 mm;

petals white to pink or red-veined, narrowly obcordate, 3–4.5(–7) × 2–3 mm, apex ± emarginate;

filaments 0.5–1.5 × 0.2–0.5 mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm;

carpels 2–6;

styles 1.5–2 mm.

Achenes

brown, 1.5–2 mm, smooth to slightly rugose.

brown, 2–2.5 mm, smooth.

2n

= 56.

= 28.

Horkelia marinensis

Horkelia sericata

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Sandy coastal flats, stabilized dunes Chaparral, oak-conifer woodlands, on serpentine-derived soil
Elevation 0–800 m (0–2600 ft) 100–1200 m (300–3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Horkelia marinensis occurs in three population clusters along the coast of California: near Fort Bragg and Rockport in Mendocino County, on Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, and from Santa Cruz and (historically) San Mateo counties. The last population cluster has often been confused with H. cuneata var. sericea; plants of it have more deeply and apically toothed, cuneate leaflets and longer, silkier hairs. It is also the basis for the attribution by J. H. Thomas (1961) of H. rydbergii (as H. bolanderi subsp. parryi) to the Santa Cruz Mountains. The three population clusters differ somewhat in vestiture, evident glandularity, and leaflet shape and size; further studies may indicate that varietal status is justified. References to H. marinensis in Sonoma County (M. G. Barbour 1970) are based on specimens of Acaena pinnatifida var. californica; reports from southern Mendocino County (G. L. Smith and C. R. Wheeler 1990–1991) are based on misidentifications of H. californica and H. tenuiloba.

Horkelia marinensis is by far the most aromatic member of the genus; the odor, which has been compared to that of a beehive, often can be perceived even before the plants are located, especially on sunny days. Plants do relatively well in cultivation, forming spreading mats with flowers that are strongly attractive to both native bees and honeybees.

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

Of conservation concern.

D. D. Keck (1938) expanded the circumscription of Horkelia sericata to encompass the plants segregated here as H. howellii, on the grounds that intergradation is too extensive to justify taxonomic recognition of the extremes. In this evaluation, however, most collections can be unequivocally divided between plants with compact silvery-sericeous leaves with entire or forked stipules (H. sericata), and plants with larger, greener leaves and pinnately divided stipules (H. howellii). It is not known if the chromosome count provided by P. A. Munz (1959) was derived from H. howellii or H. sericata.

As here circumscribed, Horkelia sericata is a localized taxon known only from Curry County, Oregon, and the Gasquet serpentine area in adjacent Del Norte County, California.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 253. FNA vol. 9, p. 265.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Horkelia > sect. Horkelia Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Horkelia > sect. Tridentatae
Sibling taxa
H. bolanderi, H. californica, H. clevelandii, H. congesta, H. cuneata, H. daucifolia, H. fusca, H. hendersonii, H. hispidula, H. howellii, H. parryi, H. rydbergii, H. sericata, H. tenuiloba, H. tridentata, H. truncata, H. tularensis, H. wilderae, H. yadonii
H. bolanderi, H. californica, H. clevelandii, H. congesta, H. cuneata, H. daucifolia, H. fusca, H. hendersonii, H. hispidula, H. howellii, H. marinensis, H. parryi, H. rydbergii, H. tenuiloba, H. tridentata, H. truncata, H. tularensis, H. wilderae, H. yadonii
Synonyms H. bolanderi var. marinensis, Potentilla kelloggii var. marinensis, P. marinensis Potentilla sericata
Name authority (Elmer) Crum: Lloydia 1: 91. (1939) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 20: 364. (1885)
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