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club-moss ivesia, clubmoss mousetail

Sierra Valley ivesia, Sierra Valley mousetail

Habit Plants green, usually rosetted, sometimes ± tufted; taproot fusiform, fleshy. Plants greenish gray to silvery; glands sparse.
Stems

decumbent to erect, 0.3–3 dm.

decumbent to erect, 1.5–4.5 dm.

Basal leaves

tightly to loosely cylindric, 1–15 cm; sheathing base glabrous abaxially;

petiole 0.5–4 cm, hairs 0.2–1 mm;

leaflets 10–35 per side, 1–8 mm, glabrous or short-hirsute, minutely glandular, lobes (2–)4–8(–10), linear to obovate or ± orbiculate, apex sometimes setose.

(7–)10–20(–23) cm; sheathing base densely strigose abaxially;

stipules absent;

petiole 4–8 cm, hairs abundant, ascending, ± 1(–3) mm;

leaflets 20–35 per side, loosely overlapping, 3–15(–20) mm, lobes 0–4(–5), oblanceolate to elliptic, hairs abundant, ascending to appressed, ± 1(–2) mm.

Cauline leaves

0–2(–3), not paired.

3–8.

Inflorescences

3–20(–25)-flowered, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3.5) cm diam.;

glomerules usually 1.

(10–)20–250-flowered, 1–14 cm diam., flowers arranged in several to many tight glomerules of 5–20 flowers.

Pedicels

(0.5–)1–7(–11) mm.

1–3(–15) mm.

Flowers

6–12 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets oblong to oval, 0.8–2.5(–3) mm;

hypanthium shallowly cupulate, 1–2 × 2.5–5 mm;

sepals (1.8–)2–4(–4.5) mm, obtuse to acute;

petals golden yellow, obovate, 2–5 mm;

stamens 5, filaments 0.8–2 mm, anthers yellow, 0.6–0.8 mm;

carpels (5–)8–15(–18), styles 1–3 mm.

5–12 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets lanceolate, 1.5–2.5(–3.5) mm;

hypanthium cupulate, 1–2 × 2.5–4(–5) mm, 1/2–2/3 as deep as wide;

sepals green, 2.5–4(–5.5) mm, acute to acuminate;

petals light yellow, oblanceolate to broadly obovate, 2–7 mm;

stamens 20, filaments filiform, 1–4 mm, anthers yellow, 0.4–0.6 mm;

carpels 2–7, styles 2–4 mm.

Achenes

greenish tan to light brown, 1.2–1.5 mm.

brown, 2–3 mm.

Ivesia lycopodioides

Ivesia aperta

Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

The three varieties of Ivesia lycopodioides are for the most part readily distinguished, though intergradation is known. The high-elevation var. lycopodioides extends farthest north; var. scandularis is the only variety in the White Mountains. Variety megalopetala is found mostly at somewhat lower (subalpine) elevations and generally has a more southern range.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Many historic collections of Ivesia aperta were identified as I. pickeringii. D. D. Keck (1938) considered I. aperta to be no more than a yellow-flowered form of I. sericoleuca, a situation clarified and rectified by J. T. Howell (1962). The ranges of the two species overlap in Sierra Valley, California, with mixed populations occurring near Beckwourth and in the valleys north of Sierra Valley. In general, var. aperta occurs in the southeastern portions of the valley and I. sericoleuca occurs on the western side; the species are not otherwise sympatric. In addition to petal color, which fades in herbarium material, I. aperta differs from I. sericoleuca in having smaller flowers with shallower hypanthia. Hairs at the base of the stems and petioles of I. aperta are relatively short (to 2 mm) and generally ascending; those of I. sericoleuca are longer (to 4 mm) and spreading. Variety canina combines the petal color of var. aperta and floral dimensions of I. sericoleuca.

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

Key
1. Leaflets short-hirsute, apical setae (0–)0.5–1(–2) mm; White Mountains and c Sierra Nevada.
var. scandularis
1. Leaflets glabrous or sparsely short-hirsute, apical setae 0–0.5 mm; Sierra Nevada and Sweetwater Mountains
→ 2
2. Leaflet lobes ± orbiculate, ± 1 mm; petals 2–3 × 1 mm.
var. lycopodioides
2. Leaflet lobes linear to oblanceolate, 2–8 mm; petals 3–5 × 2–4 mm.
var. megalopetala
1. Petals 2–3 mm, oblanceolate; filaments 1–1.5(–2) mm; Sierra Valley drainage, California, Carson and Virginia ranges, Nevada.
var. aperta
1. Petals usually 4–7 mm, narrowly to broadly obovate; filaments 2–4 mm; Dog Valley, California, Nevada.
var. canina
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 232. FNA vol. 9, p. 240.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Ivesia > sect. Ivesia Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Ivesia > sect. Unguiculatae
Sibling taxa
I. aperta, I. argyrocoma, I. arizonica, I. baileyi, I. callida, I. campestris, I. cryptocaulis, I. gordonii, I. jaegeri, I. kingii, I. longibracteata, 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. 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. utahensis, I. webberi
Subordinate taxa
I. lycopodioides var. lycopodioides, I. lycopodioides var. megalopetala, I. lycopodioides var. scandularis
I. aperta var. aperta, I. aperta var. canina
Synonyms Potentilla lycopodioides Potentilla aperta
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 530. (1865) (J. T. Howell) Munz: Suppl. Calif. Fl., 111. (1968)
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