Flora of North America species comparison

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Paysonia

Paysonia auriculata

earleaf bladderpod
Habit Annuals or, rarely, biennials or perennials; not scapose; pubescent or glabrous, trichomes short-stalked, forked or subdendritic, often mixed with coarse, simple ones. Annuals; hirsute or glabrous, trichomes relatively long, simple, with smaller, branched ones.
Stems

erect, ascending, decumbent, or procumbent, unbranched or branched.

erect or decumbent at base, (stout), 0.5–2 dm, (hirsute proximally, trichomes simple).
Leaves

basal and cauline;

petiolate or sessile;

basal rosulate, petiolate, blade margins entire, dentate, or pinnately lobed;

cauline sessile, blade (base usually auriculate or sagittate, sometimes amplexicaul), margins dentate to lobed.

Basal leaves

blade 2–5 cm × 8–15 mm, margins lyrate to sinuate-dentate or entire, (apex obtuse to subacute), surfaces often pubescent (trichomes branched, smaller), or hirsute on much of adaxial surface, margins, and midrib (trichomes simple).
Cauline leaves

(overlapping);

blade oblong to sagittate, 1–4 cm × 3–10 mm, base auriculate, margins entire or dentate.
Racemes

(several-flowered), often strongly elongated in fruit, (rachis straight).

Flowers

sepals (deciduous), suberect, ascending, or spreading, oblong, (equal), lateral pair not saccate basally, (margins membranous);

petals yellow or white, broadly obovate, claw slightly differentiated from blade, (apex rounded, truncate, retuse, or emarginate);

stamens (erect), tetradynamous;

filaments dilated or not basally;

anthers oblong or sagittate, (not apiculate);

nectar glands confluent, subtending bases of median stamens, surrounding lateral stamens.

sepals 4–6 × 1.5–2 mm, hirsute (trichomes spreading, simple and branched);

petals yellow, 7–10 × 4–5 mm, (apex rounded or slightly emarginate);

filaments abruptly dilated basally.
Fruiting pedicels

ascending to divaricate or recurved, (straight or slightly curved), slender.

divaricate-ascending to divergent (ca. 45º), slightly curved, 7–15 mm, hirsute (trichomes spreading, simple and branched).
Fruits

silicles, subsessile or sessile, globose, subglobose, subpyriform, suborbicular, orbicular, elliptic, cordate, or obovoid, terete, flattened, latiseptate, or angustiseptate;

valves (papery or leathery), not veined, glabrous or pubescent, (trichomes branched and/or simple);

replum not flattened;

septum complete, perforated, or reduced to a rim, (membranous);

ovules 4–40 per ovary;

style distinct, (persistent, slender);

stigma capitate, entire.

subsessile, globose or subglobose, (longer than broad), 4–6(–8) × 4–6 mm;

valves glabrous;

replum not flattened;

septum complete, (translucent);

ovules (8–)12–16(–20) per ovary;

style 1.5–2 mm, glabrous;

stigma expanded.
Seeds

sub-biseriate, flattened, margined, orbicular, suborbicular, or oval;

cotyledons accumbent.

suborbicular, ca. 2 mm.
x

= 7, 8, 9.

2n

= 16.

Paysonia

Paysonia auriculata
Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Bluffs, prairies, pastures, limestone outcrops, disturbed soils of banks and roadsides
Distribution
sc United States; se United States; n Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
KS; OK; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 8 (8 in the flora).

Paysonia was segregated from Lesquerella (now Physaria) based on its different base chromosome number, presence of auriculate stem leaves, typically annual duration, trichomes that are neither stellate nor tuberculate, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences. Some species of the genus have very limited distributions and are of conservation concern. Five (P. densipila, P. lescurii, P. lyrata, P. perforata, and P. stonensis) are known to be interfertile under experimental conditions, and some combinations form fertile hybrids in the field (R. C. Rollins 1988).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Fruits orbicular, elliptic, or cordate
→ 2
1. Fruits globose, subglobose, subpyriform, or obovoid
→ 3
2. Fruits angustiseptate; fruiting pedicels recurved; cauline leaf blades: base cuneate to auriculate, not amplexicaul; filaments not dilated basally.
P. lasiocarpa
2. Fruits latiseptate; fruiting pedicels divaricate or nearly straight; cauline leaf blades: base auriculate to sagittate, sometimes amplexicaul; filaments dilated basally.
P. lescurii
3. Petals white or pale lavender; septums perforate or nearly absent
→ 4
3. Petals yellow; septums complete
→ 5
4. Fruits subpyriform, valves sparsely hirsute or glabrate; styles glabrous.
P. perforata
4. Fruits subglobose, valves densely hirsute; styles hirsute, at least proximally.
P. stonensis
5. Fruit valves pubescent; styles glabrous or pubescent proximally.
P. densipila
5. Fruit valves and styles glabrous
→ 6
6. Fruits 3-4 mm; ovules 4-8 per ovary; septums opaque.
P. lyrata
6. Fruits 4-6(-8) mm; ovules (8-)12-28(-40) per ovary; septums translucent
→ 7
7. Stems hirsute proximally, trichomes simple; petals 4-5 mm wide.
P. auriculata
7. Stems pubescent proximally, trichomes branched; petals 6-9 mm wide.
P. grandiflora
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 611. Author: Steve L. O’Kane Jr.. FNA vol. 7, p. 612.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Paysonia
Sibling taxa
P. densipila, P. grandiflora, P. lasiocarpa, P. lescurii, P. lyrata, P. perforata, P. stonensis
Subordinate taxa
P. auriculata, P. densipila, P. grandiflora, P. lasiocarpa, P. lescurii, P. lyrata, P. perforata, P. stonensis
Synonyms Vesicaria auriculata, Alyssum auriculatum, Lesquerella auriculata
Name authority O’Kane & Al-Shehbaz: Novon 12: 380. (2002) (Engelmann & A. Gray) O’Kane & Al-Shehbaz: Novon 12: 380. (2002)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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