Linum kingii |
Linum intercursum |
|
---|---|---|
King's flax, perennial yellow flax |
Bicknell's yellow flax, sandplain flax, sandplain yellow flax |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, caudex woody, 5–30 cm, glabrous and glaucous. | Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 20–92 cm, glabrous. |
Stems | ascending to erect from decumbent base, branched from base. |
erect, unbranched proximal to inflorescence or few-branched at base. |
Leaves | alternate throughout or proximal opposite, divergent, erect or spreading; stipular glands absent; blade narrowly lanceolate, 5–25 × 1–3 mm, thick (basal leaves), margins entire, not ciliate, apex rounded to subacute; 1-nerved. |
proximalmost opposite, distalmost alternate, sometimes opposite nearly to inflorescence, erect to ascending; stipular glands absent; blade narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 8–27 × 1.2–5.6 mm, margins entire, not ciliate, apex acute; internal venation shown by transmitted light. |
Inflorescences | panicles or thyrses. |
panicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm. |
0–5 mm. |
Flowers | sepals persistent, lanceolate to ovate or broadly oblong, 2.5–4.5 mm, margins not scarious, inner glandular-toothed, outer entire or sparsely glandular-toothed near apex, apex acute to ± obtuse, not acuminate; petals bright yellow, oblanceolate to obovate, 5–12 mm; stamens 3–8 mm; anthers 1.5–2.5 mm; staminodia absent; styles distinct, 4–7 mm; stigmas capitate. |
sepals persistent, lanceolate, 2–3 mm, margins not scarious, entire, or inner and rarely outer sparsely glandular-toothed, apex sharp-pointed; petals yellow, obovate, 4–7 mm; stamens 3 mm; anthers 0.5–1 mm; staminodia absent; styles distinct, 1.5–2.5 mm; stigmas capitate. |
Capsules | ovoid-pyriform, 2.3–4 × 2.8–3.6 mm, apex pointed (easily crushed), freely dehiscing into 10, 1-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, proximal margins ciliate. |
turbinate, 2–3 × 2–2.3 mm, apex acute or obtuse, dehiscing freely into 10, sharp-pointed 1-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, proximal margins sparsely but conspicuously ciliate. |
Seeds | 2–2.7 × 1–1.4 mm. |
1.3–1.8 × 0.6–0.9 mm. |
2n | = 26. |
= 36. |
Linum kingii |
Linum intercursum |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Oct. |
Habitat | Open slopes, often on barren alkaline clay or rocky calcareous substrates. | sometimes in alternately wet and dry, hardpan soils. |
Elevation | 1400–3400 m. (4600–11200 ft.) | 0–800 m. (0–2600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; ID; NV; UT; WY
|
AL; CT; DC; DE; GA; IN; MA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA
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Discussion | Linum kingii is low, compact, and much branched. All parts of the flowers are yellow. The corolla is nearly rotate, the petals are abruptly narrowed to a claw, the styles are at right angles to the flower axis, and the anthers are relatively large. Linum kingii is extremely variable in habit and in size of floral and vegetative parts, even within a population or within a single plant (C. M. Rogers 1984). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Linum intercursum is sometimes confused with L. floridanum, from which it differs by its pointed capsule and broader leaves. All parts of the flower of L. intercursum are yellow, and the corolla is nearly rotate. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 382. | FNA vol. 12, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Cathartolinum kingii, Mesyniopsis kingii | Cathartolinum intercursum |
Name authority | S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 49. (1871) | E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 39: 418. (1912) |
Web links |