Lithophragma bolanderi |
Lithophragma affine |
|
---|---|---|
Bolander's woodland-star, hillstar |
common woodland star, San Francisco woodland-star |
|
Habit | Plants usually robust. | Plants robust. |
Flowering stems | branched, (rarely bearing bulbils in place of flowers), 25–85 cm. |
simple, 20–55 cm. |
Leaves | in basal rosette and cauline, basal unlobed or 3–5-lobed, never deeply lobed, cauline (2–3+), alternate, often 3–4-lobed, much reduced, similar to basal, (rarely with axillary bulbils); stipules small, not decurrent on petiole, (margins fimbriate); petiole usually to 25 cm; blade green, orbiculate, surfaces hairy. |
in basal rosette and cauline, basal leaves 3–5-lobed, cauline (1–3), deeply 3-lobed, usually reduced, similar to basal; stipules narrow, not decurrent on petiole base, (margins fimbriate); petiole to 22 cm; blade dark green, orbiculate to reniform, (base cordate), surfaces variously hairy. |
Inflorescences | 1–3, erect, 3–5(–25)-flowered racemes, 2(–3)-branched, (10–85 cm). |
1–9(–15), (often lax), nodding racemes, simple, 3–9(–15)-flowered, (10–60 cm). |
Pedicels | equaling or shorter than hypanthium, (flowers long-pedicellate). |
equaling or shorter than hypanthium. |
Flowers | persistent, fragrant, horizontal; hypanthium narrowly campanulate with obtuse base, usually not elongating in fruit, throat open, (length 2 times diam.); sepals erect in bud, widely spreading after anthesis, triangular; petals (completely exserted), widely spreading, white, ovate-elliptic, narrowly clawed, usually unlobed with serrations at base, sometimes 3–5-lobed, 4–7 mm, ultimate margins entire; ovary to 1/2 inferior; styles slightly exerted in fruit; stigma papillae apical. |
deciduous if unfertilized, not fragrant, horizontal; hypanthium obconic, elongating in fruit, throat constricted or partially open, (length 2 times diam.); sepals erect, often remaining slightly erect in fruit, triangular; petals (exserted), not widely spreading, white with obscure venation, ovate-elliptic, narrowly clawed, usually shallowly 3-lobed, rarely unlobed, (sinuses extending to 1/2 distance to base), 4–13 mm, ultimate margins entire, sometimes with extra tooth, (lobes acute); ovary ± completely inferior; styles included in fruit; stigma papillae in narrow subapical, sometimes apical bands. |
Seeds | 0.3–5 mm, tuberculate (tubercles in 3–19 rows, spinelike). |
0.5–0.6 mm, smooth, sometimes rough. |
2n | = 14, 28, 35, 42. |
= 14, 21, 28, 35. |
Lithophragma bolanderi |
Lithophragma affine |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jun. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Well-drained, open, grassy areas of oak or coniferous-oak woodland | Coastal mountains, open, well-drained, grassy slopes, clearings, open bluffs in oak or coniferous-oak woodlands, sometimes in semishade or coastal north-facing canyons |
Elevation | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) | 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
CA; OR
|
Discussion | Lithophragma bolanderi is known from California along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from Shasta County to the San Gabriel Mountains and the north-central inner coastal mountains around San Francisco Bay north to Mendocino County. Variable vegetative features, such as petal shape, size of seeds, and general growth habit, are the result of environmental factors and gene interchange among species. Lithophragma bolanderi is best distinguished from L. heterophyllum by the shape of the hypanthium base, position of styles and stigmas in fruit, length of seed tubercles, and general outline of the petals. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Flowering in Lithophragma affine is dependent upon sufficient rainfall. Often-abundant vegetative reproduction is by aerial or subterranean bulbils. The southern California specimens form a polymorphic complex related to the topography of the region, seasonal precipitation, and reproductive biology. The north-coastal distribution is complicated by introgression with L. parviflorum. Similar transitional forms occur in central coastal California to the Sierra Nevada foothills. The Mendocino Indians used the root of Lithophragma affine to treat colds and stomach aches (D. E. Moerman 1998). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 82. | FNA vol. 8, p. 80. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Lithophragma | Saxifragaceae > Lithophragma |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | L. heterophyllum var. bolanderi, L. heterophyllum var. scabrellum, L. scabrellum, L. scabrellum var. peirsonii, Tellima heterophylla var. bolanderi, Tellima scabrella | L. affine subsp. mixtum, L. catalinae, L. intermedium, L. trifidum, L. tripartitum, Tellima catalinae, Tellima intermedia, Tellima tripartita |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 535. 1865 , | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 534. 1865 (as affinis) , |
Web links |