Ivesia lycopodioides
Ivesia sect. Ivesia
club-moss ivesia, clubmoss mousetail
decumbent to erect, 0.3–3 dm.
(0.2–)0.3–2(–4) 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.
usually loosely to very tightly cylindric (mousetail-like in I. muirii), rarely weakly planar (I. longibracteata);
stipules present;
leaflets overlapping, individually distinguishable or not, lobed to base, sparsely to densely hairy, sometimes glabrous or glabrate;
terminal leaflets indistinct.
0–2(–3), not paired.
(0–)1–3, sometimes paired;
blade usually ± reduced to vestigial, rarely well developed.
3–20(–25)-flowered, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3.5) cm diam.;
glomerules usually 1.
usually ± congested, sometimes becoming open in fruit, flowers mostly arranged in 1–few(–several in I. gordonii var. wasatchensis) loose to capitate glomerules.
(0.5–)1–7(–11) mm.
remaining straight.
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.
hypanthium shallowly cupulate or campanulate, sometimes turbinate (I. gordonii);
petals not medially reflexed, golden to pale yellow, sometimes white (I. utahensis) and then sometimes pink-tinged, not or scarcely clawed, apex acute to truncate, rounded, or emarginate;
stamens 5 (10 in I. pygmaea), anthers longer than wide, laterally dehiscent;
carpels (1–)2–15(–30 in I. pygmaea).
greenish tan to light brown, 1.2–1.5 mm.
vertical, smooth or nearly so, not carunculate.
Ivesia lycopodioides
Ivesia sect. Ivesia
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.)
Species 8 (8 in the flora).
Species in sect. Ivesia tend to form compact rosettes or tufts in open montane to alpine areas, often where rocky but generally not growing in rock crevices (except Ivesia longibracteata). General characteristics of the section are an overall evident glandularity, loosely to tightly cylindric leaves (mousetail-like in I. muirii), relatively short ascending to erect stems, straight pedicels, and flowers that are typically congested into 1–few capitate clusters that sometimes become more open in fruit. The taproots of some species, especially I. lycopodioides, are markedly enlarged, an adaptation to alpine growing conditions. The inclusion of two anomalous species in the section, I. longibracteata and I. webberi, is tentative; it is also possible that I. cryptocaulis belongs here rather than in sect. Setosae.
Section Ivesia has its center of species diversity in the high Sierra Nevada of California, where Ivesia pygmaea, with its ten stamens and more open habit, is possibly transitional between sects. Ivesia and Setosae. Ivesia gordonii (the most widespread species), I. tweedyi, and I. utahensis form an arc around the northern Great Basin, as outliers from the core Sierran distribution of the section.
Some early floras treated Ivesia pygmaea and I. lycopodioides as varieties of I. gordonii (for example, W. H. Brewer et al. 1876–1880, vol. 1) or Potentilla gordonii (Hooker) Greene (W. L. Jepson [1923–1925], 1909–1943, vol. 2). Recent treatments follow D. D. Keck (1938) in recognizing all three as distinct species; some annotations and references are nevertheless carried over from the earlier expanded circumscription of I. gordonii.
Since Ivesia cryptocaulis is sometimes identified as a member of sect. Ivesia, it is included herein and keys out in the seventh couplet.
(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 |
1. Epicalyx bractlets longer than sepals, 2.5–5 mm; leaves weakly planar to loosely ± cylindric; leaflets 5–6 per side; Castle Crags, n California. | I. longibracteata |
1. Epicalyx bractlets shorter than sepals, 0.5–3(–4 in I. gordonii) mm; leaves loosely to tightly cylindric; leaflets mostly 10–40 per side (4–10 in I. webberi); w United States | → 2 |
2. Plants silvery; leaves very tightly cylindric (mousetail-like, with leaflets scarcely distinguishable); leaflets 0.4–1 mm. | I. muirii |
2. Plants ± green; leaves loosely to tightly cylindric; leaflets distinguishable, (0.5–)2–13(–18) mm | → 3 |
3. Cauline leaves 2, paired; basal leaves: leaflets 4–8(–10) per side; petiole hairs 2–4 mm. | I. webberi |
3. Cauline leaves 0–2(–3), not paired; basal leaves: leaflets (6–)10–35 per side; petiole hairs 0.2–1.5 mm | → 4 |
4. Hypanthia turbinate to campanulate, (1.5–)2–4(–4.5) mm (± as deep as wide); petals narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate. | I. gordonii |
4. Hypanthia shallowly cupulate or shallowly campanulate, 1–2 mm (wider than deep); petals oblanceolate or broadly elliptic to spatulate or broadly obovate | → 5 |
5. Carpels (1–)2–6(–9); Idaho, Utah, Washington | → 6 |
5. Carpels (5–)8–30; e California, Nevada | → 7 |
6. Petals white, sometimes pink-tinged; stems prostrate to ascending; leaflets 2–4 mm; Utah. | I. utahensis |
6. Petals golden yellow; stems ascending to erect; leaflets 4–7(–10) mm; n Idaho, Washington. | I. tweedyi |
7. Plants diffusely matted; Spring Mountains, s Nevada. | I. cryptocaulis |
7. Plants rosetted to tufted or ± tightly matted; Sierra Nevada, White Mountains, and Sweetwater Mountains of e California and adjacent w Nevada | → 8 |
8. Stamens 10; sheathing bases usually ± strigose abaxially; taproots stout, not fleshy. | I. pygmaea |
8. Stamens 5; sheathing bases glabrous abaxially; taproots fusiform, fleshy. | I. lycopodioides |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
