Ivesia sericoleuca
Ivesia patellifera
Plumas ivesia, Plumas mousetail
Kingston Mountain mousetail, Kingston Mountains. ivesia
decumbent to ascending, 1.5–4.5 dm.
pendent or prostrate to ascending, (0.5–)1–2 dm.
10–20(–30) cm; sheathing base densely strigose abaxially;
stipules absent;
petiole 2–6(–10) cm, hairs abundant, usually spreading, 1–4 mm;
leaflets 20–35 per side, loosely overlapping, 3–15 mm, lobes 0–4, oblanceolate to elliptic, hairs abundant, spreading to ascending, (0.5–)1–3(–4) mm.
planar, (2–)5–15 cm; sheathing base not strigose abaxially;
petiole 1–5 cm;
lateral leaflets (1–)2–3(–4) per side, separate, obovate to orbiculate, 5–20 mm, incised 1/4–1/2 to base into 5–9 broadly ovate teeth, apex not setose, surfaces short-pilose, ± glandular;
terminal leaflets distinct.
3–8(–10).
(0–)2;
blade well developed.
20–120-flowered, (2–)4–14 cm diam., flowers mostly arranged in several to many tight glomerules of 5–10 flowers.
(1–)3–20(–35)-flowered, open, (0.5–)1.5–4(–6) cm diam.
1–3(–12) mm.
5–20(–30) mm.
10–15 mm diam.;
epicalyx bractlets narrowly lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, (1.5–)2–2.5(–3) mm;
hypanthium campanulate to shallowly turbinate, 1.5–3 × 2.5–4.5(–5) mm, often nearly as deep as wide;
sepals sometimes purple-suffused, 3–5.5 mm, acute to acuminate;
petals white, broadly spatulate to broadly obovate or obcordate, 4–7 mm;
stamens 20, filaments filiform, 1.5–3 mm, anthers white to cream, 0.5–0.7 mm;
carpels 2–7, styles 2.5–4 mm.
7–10 cm diam.;
epicalyx bractlets 0;
hypanthium patelliform, 0.5(–1) × 2–3 mm;
sepals 2–4 mm, broadly acute;
petals yellow, narrowly oblanceolate, 2–3 mm;
stamens 5–10, filaments 0.6–1.2(–1.5) mm, anthers yellow, oblong, 0.8–1 mm;
carpels 4–10, styles 1.5–2 mm.
brown, 2–3 mm.
greenish white to light tan, 1.5–2 mm, faintly rugose, ± carunculate.
= 28.
Ivesia sericoleuca
Ivesia patellifera
Of conservation concern.
Ivesia sericoleuca is known from valleys and flats in the northern Sierra Nevada. Many historic collections were identified and distributed as I. unguiculata, and circumscriptions prior to 1962 include I. aperta (hence reports from Nevada).
Hairs are usually dense in plants of Ivesia sericoleuca, such that the leaves, and occasionally the stems and branches, are silvery gray, especially in Sierra Valley and the Feather River drainage. Plants in the Truckee River drainage tend to be less hairy with redder stems, less glomerate inflorescences, shallower hypanthia, and more conspicuous glandularity.
As mentioned by J. T. Howell (1962), the chromosome count given for Ivesia sericoleuca by P. A. Munz (1959) most likely was based on a collection of I. aperta var. aperta. The chromosome count given here is instead based on Kruckeberg 3665, originally distributed as I. pickeringii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Ivesia patellifera is confined to crevices in steep wash and canyon walls in the Kingston Mountains of San Bernardino County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
