Polygonella polygama
Polygonella basiramia
october-flower
Florida jointweed, hairy wireweed
erect or decumbent, usually branched proximally and distally, glabrous or minutely pubescent.
erect, branched or below ground level, glabrous or scabrous.
persistent;
ocrea margins not ciliate;
blade linear to narrowly clavate or broadly spatulate, (3–)4–16(–36) × (0.3–)0.6–3.6(–5) mm, base barely tapered to attenuate, margins hyaline at least along distal 1/2, apex obtuse, glabrous.
fugacious;
ocrea margins ciliate;
blade linear, (3.5–)7–19(–28) × 0.2–0.5(–0.7) mm, base barely tapered, margins not hyaline, apex acuminate, minutely scabrous.
(2–)4–20(–33) mm;
ocreola encircling rachis, only the base adnate to rachis, apex acute to acuminate.
(10–)14–22(–30) mm;
ocreola encircling rachis, only the base adnate to rachis, apex acuminate.
spreading in anthesis, spreading to reflexed in fruit, 0.2–0.9 mm, as long or much longer than subtending ocreola.
spreading to reflexed in anthesis, sharply reflexed in fruit, 0.3–0.6 mm, as long or much longer than subtending ocreola.
functionally unisexual;
filaments dimorphic;
anthers pink, orange, or yellow;
styles and stigma ca. 0.1 mm in anthesis.
bisexual or pistillate;
outer tepals loosely appressed in anthesis and fruit, white to pinkish, distal portion of midrib often inconspicuously greenish, narrowly oblong, 0.7–1.5 mm in anthesis, margins entire;
inner tepals loosely appressed in anthesis and fruit, white to pinkish, narrowly oblong, 0.8–1.5 mm in anthesis, margins entire;
filaments dimorphic, pubescent basally;
anthers deep red;
styles and stigmas ca 0.1 mm in anthesis.
outer tepals loosely appressed in anthesis, reflexed in fruit, white, broadly elliptic, 0.9–1.8 mm in anthesis, margins entire;
inner tepals appressed in anthesis and fruit, white, elliptic, 0.9–1.7 mm in anthesis, margins entire.
outer tepals loosely appressed in anthesis, usually reflexed in fruit, white to pink, often drying yellow, broadly elliptic to ovate, 0.5–1.3 mm in anthesis, margins entire;
inner tepals appressed in anthesis and fruit, white to pink, often drying yellow or red, broadly elliptic to ovate, 0.6–1.5 mm in anthesis, margins entire.
mostly included, brown to yellow-brown, 3-gonous, 1.3–2.1 × 0.7–1.2 mm, shiny, smooth.
exserted, reddish brown to yellow-brown, 3-gonous, 2.2–2.8 × 0.5–0.7 mm, shiny, smooth.
= 28.
= 22.
Polygonella polygama
Polygonella basiramia
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
J. H. Horton (1963) found considerable intergradation among characters used by J. K. Small (1933) to separate Polyonella polygama, P. brachystachya, and P. croomii. He included the latter two taxa in P. polygama. R. P. Wunderlin (1981) as well as G. L. Nesom and V. M. Bates (1984) discussed morphological variation among these geographically distinct entities and recognized three varieties.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Polygonella basiramia is known only from the Lake Wales, Winter Haven, Lake Henry, and Bombing Range ridges of central peninsular Florida (S. P. Christman and W. S. Judd 1990). Habitat loss is a serious threat to this species, which disperses and colonizes new scrub habitat better than other regional endemics. C. V. Hawkes and E. S. Menges (1995) have shown a significant positive correlation between the amount of open-sand habitat and both plant density and seed production at sites where this species grows.
P. O. Lewis and D. J. Crawford (1995) considered Polygonella basiramia to be an annual; C. V. Hawkes and E. S. Menges (1995) treated it as a short-lived perennial. It is closely related to P. ciliata and was treated as a variety of that species by J. H. Horton (1963). G. L. Nesom and V. M. Bates (1984) advocated recognition of both taxa at the species level.
Polygonella basiramia is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Ocreae with apex acuminate, tip 1-1.5 mm; leaf blades usually 0.5-1 mm wide | var. croomii |
1. Ocreae with apex obtuse to acute, tip 0.1-0.5 mm; leaf blades 0.5-6 mm wide | → 2 |
2. Leaf blades 0.5-1 mm wide | var. brachystachya |
2. Leaf blades (2-)3-6 mm wide | var. polygama |
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