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granite mousetail, Muir's ivesia

Pickering's ivesia, silky mousetail

Habit Plants silvery, usually ± rosetted; taproot stout, sometimes fleshy. Plants grayish green; glands abundant.
Stems

usually ± erect, sometimes nearly prostrate, 0.5–1.5(–2) dm.

ascending to erect, 3–5 dm.

Basal leaves

very tightly cylindric (mousetail-like, with individual leaflets scarcely distinguishable), 2–5(–10) cm; sheathing base densely strigose abaxially;

petiole 0.2–0.8(–1) cm, hairs 0.5–1.5 mm;

leaflets 25–40 per side, 0.4–1 mm, densely sericeous, glands obscured, lobes 2–5, obovate or oval to orbiculate, apex not setose.

8–20 cm; sheathing base ± strigose abaxially;

stipules linear to narrowly lanceolate, 3–5 mm;

petiole 1–3.5 cm, hairs abundant, ascending to spreading, 1–2 mm;

leaflets 35–50 per side, loosely overlapping, 2–6 mm, lobes 3–5, oblanceolate to obovate or oval, hairs abundant, ± ascending, 1–2(–3) mm.

Cauline leaves

(0–)1–2, paired if 2.

5–10.

Inflorescences

10–30-flowered, 1–2(–3.5) cm diam.;

glomerules usually 1.

10–100-flowered, (1.5–)5–15 cm diam., flowers usually arranged individually, sometimes more congested.

Pedicels

0.3–2(–3.5) mm.

(1–)2–10 mm.

Flowers

5–6 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets oblong to obovate, 0.5–1 mm;

hypanthium shallowly cupulate, 0.5–1(–1.5) × 1.5–2.5 mm;

sepals (1–)1.5–2.5 mm, acute;

petals yellow, linear to oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, 1–2 mm;

stamens 5, filaments 0.3–0.6 mm, anthers yellow, 0.4–0.6 mm;

carpels 1–4, styles 0.7–1.2 mm.

8–13 mm diam.;

epicalyx bractlets linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, (1.8–)2–2.5 mm;

hypanthium cupulate to turbinate, 1.5–3 × 2.5–4 mm, often nearly as deep as wide;

sepals often purple-suffused or -mottled, (2.5–)3–5 mm, acuminate;

petals white, becoming pink-tinged with age, oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate, (2.8–)3–5(–6) mm;

stamens 20, filaments filiform, 1.5–2.3 mm, anthers white to cream, 0.3–0.6 mm;

carpels 2–4, styles 2.5–3.5 mm.

Achenes

grayish brown, mottled with red, 1.6–2 mm.

dark brown, 2.5–3 mm.

Ivesia muirii

Ivesia pickeringii

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, fellfields, mostly in alpine conifer woodlands and tundra Moist, rocky, grassy meadows, mainly on ultramafic-derived clayey soil, in montane conifer woodlands
Elevation 2900–4000 m (9500–13100 ft) 800–1500 m (2600–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ivesia muirii is known from alpine areas in the Sierra Nevada. It is one of the more distinctive species of the genus, in its silvery mousetail-like leaves and usually tightly capitate inflorescences. Putative hybrids are known with I. lycopodioides (D. D. Keck 1938) and I. pygmaea (Center Basin area of Tulare County).

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

Of conservation concern.

Ivesia pickeringii is known from Siskiyou and Trinity counties. Some early treatments (for example, P. A. Rydberg 1898, 1908–1918; W. L. Jepson [1923–1925], 1909–1943, vol. 2) conflated this species with I. aperta, hence reports of I. pickeringii in the Sierra Nevada. Historic collections from Edgewood, at the headwaters of the Shasta River in Siskiyou County, have inflorescences more glomerulate than elsewhere in the species range.

The chromosome count of 2n = 28 (P. A. Munz 1959) needs confirmation. If based on Kruckeberg 3665, which was distributed as a voucher for that count, the determination of this collection has been changed to Ivesia sericoleuca.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 236. FNA vol. 9, p. 239.
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. lycopodioides, 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. 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
Synonyms Potentilla muirii Potentilla pickeringii
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 627. (1873) Torrey ex A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 531. (1865)
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