Ivesia sect. Ivesia
Ivesia pygmaea
dwarf ivesia, dwarf mousetail
(0.2–)0.3–2(–4) dm.
decumbent to erect, 0.3–1(–1.5) dm.
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.
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–)1–3, sometimes paired;
blade usually ± reduced to vestigial, rarely well developed.
(0–)1, not paired.
usually ± congested, sometimes becoming open in fruit, flowers mostly arranged in 1–few(–several in I. gordonii var. wasatchensis) loose to capitate glomerules.
(1–)5–10-flowered, 0.8–3 cm diam.;
glomerules usually 1.
remaining straight.
1.5–8(–10) 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).
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.
vertical, smooth or nearly so, not carunculate.
greenish tan to light brown, 1.2–1.5 mm.
Ivesia sect. Ivesia
Ivesia pygmaea
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.)
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. 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 |
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