Flora of North America species comparison

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Hypoxis hirsuta

common goldstar, common star-grass, eastern yellow stargrass
Leaves

(1–)2–5(–15) mm wide, soft, flexible, essentially glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent.
Scape

(4–)5–17(–25) cm.
Inflorescences

umbellate, 1–5(–7)-flowered;

proximal 2 flowers, when present, always paired;

bracts (1–)2–10(–17) mm.
Flowers

tepals (3–)6–10(–17) × 2–4 (–5) mm, shorter than pedicel, much longer than ovary;

anthers 1.5–3.5(–4) mm;

ovary obconic, (1–)2–4 × (1–)2–4 mm, densely pubescent;

pedicel (6–)9–25(–30) mm, usually 2+ times longer than bracts.
Seeds

black, lustrous, (0.9–)1–1.5(–1.7) mm, coarsely muricate.

Hypoxis hirsuta
Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Wet to dry woodlands and prairies
Elevation 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; ON; SK
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Discussion

Very rarely, specimens of Hypoxis hirsuta have cylindrical ovaries and/or bracts nearly equaling the pedicels. These specimens are recognized by the umbelliform inflorescence typical of H. hirsuta. The condition appears to be pathological and is associated with a lack of seed development.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 202.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Hypoxis
Sibling taxa
H. curtissii, H. juncea, H. mexicana, H. rigida, H. sessilis, H. wrightii
Synonyms Ornithogalum hirsutum, H. carolinensis, H. erecta, H. graminea, H. grandis, H. micrantha, H. pallida, H. villosa
Name authority (Linnaeus) Coville: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 5: 118. (1894)
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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