Ivesia lycopodioides
Ivesia pygmaea
club-moss ivesia, clubmoss mousetail
dwarf ivesia, dwarf mousetail
decumbent to erect, 0.3–3 dm.
decumbent to erect, 0.3–1(–1.5) dm.
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.
tightly cylindric, (0.5–)1–8(–12) cm; sheathing base usually ± strigose abaxially;
petiole 0.5–4 cm, hairs 0.2–1 mm;
leaflets 10–15(–20) per side, 0.5–4(–5) mm, sparsely to moderately short-villous, densely glandular, lobes 3–6(–8), oblanceolate to narrowly oblong or oval, apex setose.
0–2(–3), not paired.
(0–)1, not paired.
3–20(–25)-flowered, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3.5) cm diam.;
glomerules usually 1.
(1–)5–10-flowered, 0.8–3 cm diam.;
glomerules usually 1.
(0.5–)1–7(–11) mm.
1.5–8(–10) mm.
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.
9–11 mm diam.;
epicalyx bractlets elliptic to oblong, 1.2–2 mm;
hypanthium shallowly cupulate, 1–2 × 2.5–5(–7) mm;
sepals 2–3.5 mm, bluntly acute;
petals golden yellow, broadly oblanceolate to spatulate or broadly obovate, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm;
stamens 10, filaments 0.6–1.8 mm, anthers yellow, 0.6–0.8 mm;
carpels 10–30, styles 0.9–1.3 mm.
greenish tan to light brown, 1.2–1.5 mm.
greenish tan to light brown, 1.2–1.5 mm.
Ivesia lycopodioides
Ivesia pygmaea
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.)
Ivesia pygmaea is known only from the southern Sierra Nevada in California, where it overlaps the range of I. lycopodioides var. megalopetala. Stamen number is the only unequivocal way to distinguish between the two, though I. pygmaea is also more generally setose with somewhat shallower hypanthia. It is also more likely to have much-branched caudices and can form mats in rocky sites. Larger plants with relatively open cymes have sometime been segregated as I. chaetophora; this probably represents ecological and phenotypic plasticity.
Early reports of Ivesia pygmaea from Nevada are based on P. A. Rydberg’s (1898) mistaken understanding of the type locality, which is actually in Tulare County, California. A reported occurrence from the northern Sierra Nevada in Nevada (J. T. Kartesz 1987) is presumably based on the same source as the unconfirmed report of I. lycopodioides from the same locality (D. D. Keck 1938).
The correct name for this species if treated as Potentilla is P. nubigena Greene; P. decipiens Greene is a later homonym and illegitimate.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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 |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
