Flora of North America species comparison

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Ivesia gordonii

Ivesia utahensis
Ivesia gordonii

alpine ivesia, alpine mousetail, Gordon's ivesia

Utah ivesia, Utah mousetail
Habit Plants green, ± tufted, sometimes rosetted; taproot stout, not fleshy. Plants green, rosetted to tufted; taproot proximally enlarged, not fleshy.
Stems

prostrate to erect, (0.2–)0.5–4 dm.

prostrate to ascending, 0.5–1.5(–2) dm.
Basal leaves

tightly to loosely cylindric, (1–)3–20(–25) cm; sheathing base ± glandular abaxially, otherwise glabrous;

petiole 0.5–8 cm, hairs 0.2–0.5 mm;

leaflets (6–)10–25 per side, (1–)2–13(–18) mm, glabrous or ± hirsute or villous, glandular-puberulent or -pubescent, lobes (2–)4–8(–15), linear or narrowly oblanceolate to obovate, apex rarely setose.

± tightly cylindric, 2–7(–9) cm; sheathing base glabrous abaxially;

petiole 0.5–2 cm, hairs 0.5–1 mm;

leaflets 15–20 per side, 2–4 mm, glabrate or sparsely short-hirsute, sparsely to densely glandular, lobes (2–)3–8, narrowly oblanceolate to obovate, apex not setose.
Cauline leaves

1(–2), not paired.

(0–)1, not paired.
Inflorescences

5–50(–70)-flowered, 1–8(–11) cm diam.;

glomerules 1–several.

(5–)10–30-flowered, 1–2.5(–5) cm diam.;

glomerules 1–few.
Pedicels

1–3(–5) mm.

1–7 mm.
Flowers

5–12 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets linear to narrowly elliptic, (0.5–)1–3.5(–4) mm;

hypanthium turbinate to campanulate, (1.5–)2–4(–4.5) × 2–4(–5) mm;

sepals (2–)2.5–5(–6) mm, obtuse to ± acute;

petals yellow, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate, (1–)1.5–3 mm;

stamens 5, filaments 1.3–2.5 mm, anthers yellow, sometimes red-margined, 0.5–1 mm;

carpels (1–)2–4(–6), styles 2.5–4.5(–6) mm.

7–9 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets narrowly oblong to oval, 0.8–2 mm;

hypanthium shallowly cupulate, (1–)1.5–2 × 2.5–3.5 mm;

sepals (1.8–)2–3 mm, acute;

petals white, sometimes pink-tinged, oblanceolate to spatulate, 1.8–3 mm;

stamens 5, filaments 1.3–1.8 mm, anthers orangish to reddish brown, 0.4–0.6 mm;

carpels (1–)2–4, styles 1.5–2 mm.
Achenes

grayish brown to mottled brown, ± 2 mm.

yellowish green to light tan or gray-brown, 1.7–1.9 mm.

Ivesia gordonii

Ivesia utahensis
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Talus slopes, bare ridges, in high-elevation sagebrush communities, subalpine to alpine conifer woodlands
Elevation 3200–3700 m (10500–12100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

Ivesia gordonii is the most widespread species of the genus, occurring from Washington to Montana, south to central California and Colorado. The species can be distinguished from other members of sect. Ivesia by the relatively deep hypanthium, which is about as deep as wide. Four varieties are provisionally recognized here (B. Ertter and J. L. Reveal 2007), with the likelihood that future work may indicate additional and/or alternate circumscriptions. Populations that are difficult to assign to a variety can be found where the recognizable taxonomic units come together, for example, in northeastern Utah and western Wyoming, involving var. gordonii and var. wasatchensis, and in California and central Idaho where var. alpicola and var. ursinorum tend to merge.

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

Of conservation concern.

Ivesia utahensis is known from the Wasatch and adjacent Uinta Mountains in northern Utah. The species stands as the white-petaled counterpart to the yellow-petaled Sierran I. lycopodioides, possibly indicating a common ancestral stock that was once more continuous across the Great Basin.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaflets 7–13(–18) mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute or villous marginally; stems (1–)1.5–4 dm; inflorescences usually branched, 2–8(–11) cm diam., glomerules (1–)2–6(–10), ± capitate.
var. wasatchensis
1. Leaflets (1–)2–7(–9) mm, hairy or ± glabrous except marginally ciliate; stems (0.2–)0.5–2.5 dm; inflorescences simple or branched, 1–3(–5) cm diam., glomerules 1(–3), ± capitate to loosely congested
→ 2
2. Stems usually prostrate to ascending, rarely nearly erect, usually dark reddish, minutely glandular or glandular-puberulent to -pubescent; leaves to 0.8 cm diam.; anthers usually red-margined.
var. ursinorum
2. Stems usually ascending to erect, sometimes decumbent, usually greenish, rarely reddish, hirsute to villous, glandular-puberulent to -pubescent; leaves to 1.5 cm diam.; anthers rarely red-margined
→ 3
3. Stems usually hirsute to villous, sometimes densely so, glandular-pubescent or eglandular; basal leaves (3–)5–10(–15) cm; flowers 7–12 mm diam.; e Idaho and w Montana to Utah, Wyoming, and w Colorado.
var. gordonii
3. Stems not or sparsely hirsute to villous, glandular-puberulent or -pubescent; basal leaves 2–8(–10) cm; flowers 5–9 mm diam.; s Washington to California and e to w Montana.
var. alpicola
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 233. FNA vol. 9, p. 233.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Ivesia > sect. Ivesia Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Ivesia > sect. Ivesia
Sibling taxa
I. aperta, I. argyrocoma, I. arizonica, I. baileyi, I. callida, I. campestris, I. cryptocaulis, I. jaegeri, I. kingii, I. longibracteata, I. lycopodioides, I. muirii, I. multifoliolata, I. paniculata, I. patellifera, I. pickeringii, I. pityocharis, I. pygmaea, I. rhypara, I. sabulosa, I. santolinoides, I. saxosa, I. sericoleuca, I. setosa, I. shockleyi, I. tweedyi, I. unguiculata, I. utahensis, I. webberi
I. aperta, I. argyrocoma, I. arizonica, I. baileyi, I. callida, I. campestris, I. cryptocaulis, I. gordonii, I. jaegeri, I. kingii, I. longibracteata, I. lycopodioides, I. muirii, I. multifoliolata, I. paniculata, I. patellifera, I. pickeringii, I. pityocharis, I. pygmaea, I. rhypara, I. sabulosa, I. santolinoides, I. saxosa, I. sericoleuca, I. setosa, I. shockleyi, I. tweedyi, I. unguiculata, I. webberi
Subordinate taxa
I. gordonii var. alpicola, I. gordonii var. gordonii, I. gordonii var. ursinorum, I. gordonii var. wasatchensis
Synonyms Horkelia gordonii, Potentilla gordonii Potentilla utahensis
Name authority (Hooker) Torrey & A. Gray: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 6(3): 72. (1858) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 371. (1882)
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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