Linum puberulum |
Linum compactum |
|
---|---|---|
desert flax, hairy flax, plains flax |
Wyoming flax |
|
Habit | Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, 4–25 cm, densely and finely gray-puberulent throughout. | Herbs, annual, 5–30 cm, glabrous throughout or puberulent at base. |
Stems | ascending, branched at base, herbaceous throughout. |
erect, branched from base and throughout, bushy. |
Leaves | alternate or sometimes proximal leaves opposite, appressed-ascending; stipular glands present (conspicuous); blade linear, 7–20 × 0.6–1.5 mm, margins entire or distal leaves sparsely glandular-toothed, ciliate, apex acute; 1-nerved. |
alternate, spreading to ascending; stipular glands absent; blade linear, 10–28 × 1–1.5 mm, margins entire or sparsely toothed on distal leaves, not ciliate, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | open panicles. |
dense panicles. |
Pedicels | 5–10 mm. |
2–7 mm. |
Flowers | sepals falling tardily, lanceolate, 4–7 mm, margins of inner sepals scarious, glandular-toothed, apex acute to acuminate, puberulent at least on midrib; outer 3-nerved; petals yellowish orange to salmon, with maroon or reddish base, obcordate or broadly obovate, 9–15 mm; stamens 4–7 mm; anthers 0.6–1.4 mm; staminodia absent; styles connate nearly to apex, 3–7 mm; stigmas dark, capitate. |
sepals tardily deciduous, lanceolate, 5–9 mm, margins narrowly scarious, conspicuously glandular-toothed, apex acute to acuminate; petals yellow, obovate, 6–11 mm; stamens 4–6 mm; anthers 0.4–0.8 mm; staminodia absent; styles connate nearly to apex, 2.5–4 mm; stigmas capitate. |
Capsules | ovoid-ellipsoid, 3.5–4 × 2.5–5 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa complete, proximal margin not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins ciliate. |
ovoid, 3.5–4.4 × 2.7–3.5 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa complete, proximal part membranaceous, not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins not or only minutely ciliate. |
Seeds | 1.5–3 × 0.9–1.3 mm. |
2.6–3.1 × 1–1.3 mm. |
2n | = 30. |
= 30. |
Linum puberulum |
Linum compactum |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Oct. | Flowering Jun–Aug(–Sep). |
Habitat | Dry, open areas, rocky, sandy, limestone, gypsum, or sometimes clay soils. | Sagebrush grasslands, ponderosa pine woodlands, meadows, prairies, rocky outcrops. |
Elevation | 300–2500 m. (1000–8200 ft.) | 600–1800 m. (2000–5900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; NE; NM; NV; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora)
|
CO; IL; KS; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY; AB; SK
|
Discussion | Corollas of Linum puberulum are broadly bowl-shaped. The filaments and styles are pale pink; the stigmas are dark maroon. The pollen is bright yellow; on herbarium specimens, the anthers are golden yellow to orangish yellow, drying darker. In some flowers of L. puberulum, the styles seem to be eccentric. C. M. Rogers (1968) noted that L. puberulum is the only hairy species of Linum in western North America with united styles; its gray indument and complete false septa differentiate it from L. vernale, which is glabrous and has incomplete false septa. Linum puberulum is fairly common in the Rocky Mountain foothills and high plains; it occurs in the mountains in the eastern Mojave Desert. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Linum compactum is generally low-growing, much branched, and bushy; its flowers are smaller than those of L. rigidum. Linum compactum is found on the high plains in open areas. C. M. Rogers (1984) suggested that it might be closely related to L. australe, which differs in being more slender with more open habit and of pine forest habitats. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 388. | FNA vol. 12, p. 390. |
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | L. rigidum var. puberulum | L. rigidum var. compactum |
Name authority | (Engelmann) A. Heller: Pl. World 1: 22. (1897) | A. Nelson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 31: 241. (1904) |
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