Flora of North America species comparison

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Petunia axillaris

garden petunia, large white petunia, white-flower petunia
Stems

1.5–7 dm.
Leaf

blades: proximalmost oblanceolate, distalmost lanceolate to ovate, 2–8.5 (including petiole) × 0.8–3.5 cm, margins entire.
Pedicels

1.5–8 cm.
Flowers

calyx 8–17 mm, lobes 4–14 mm;

corolla ivory to white (lobe apex sometimes drying pale pink), veins often green or dark purple (drying brownish), salverform, tube 2.8–5.2 cm, limb 2.5–5.5 cm diam.;

stamens inserted near midpoint of corolla tube, not surpassing style;

anthers and pollen yellow;

filaments green;

pistil 3.2–4.5 cm.
Capsules

5–12 mm.
2n

= 14.

Petunia axillaris
Phenology Flowering May–Oct.
Habitat Waste places, along railroads and roadsides, poor soil.
Elevation 0–400 m. [0–1300 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; MA; MI; MN; MO; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; TX; WV; South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Specimens of Petunia axillaris are often misidentified as P. × atkinsiana, especially if there is some slight color in the corolla. Petunia × atkinsiana with white corollas sometimes has the blue pollen and anther color of P. integrifolia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14. Treatment authors: Kathryn L. Fox, Janet R. Sullivan.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Petunia
Sibling taxa
P. integrifolia, P. ×atkinsiana
Synonyms Nicotiana axillaris
Name authority (Lamarck) Britton: Sterns & Poggenburg, Prelim. Cat., 38. (1888)
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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