Sabatia capitata
Sabatia formosa
Appalachian rose-gentian, Cumberland rose-gentian
Buckley's sabatia, stately rose gentian
single, terete or slightly 4-ridged but not angled or winged, 1.5–4.5(–7) dm, branching opposite or alternate.
4-angled, sometimes with wings to 0.2 mm wide, 0.6–3 dm, branching all or mostly alternate.
basal and cauline present at flowering time;
blade oblong to elliptic, 2–5(–7) cm × 7–20(–25) mm.
basal and cauline present at flowering time;
blade lanceolate to ovate, that is, widest proximal to middle, 0.8–2.5 cm × 3–13 mm.
heads, sessile.
open cymes;
pedicels 20–70 mm.
7–12-merous;
calyx tube widely campanulate, 3–6 mm, not ridged, lobes linear, 4–10 mm;
corolla pink or rarely white, eye pale yellow, projections of eye into corolla lobes semicircular, without a contrasting border, tube 5–7 mm, lobes narrowly spatulate-obovate, 12–25 × 5–13 mm, apex rounded;
anthers remaining straight or nearly so, not coiling.
5-merous;
calyx tube campanulate, 2–8 mm, commissural veins more prominent than midveins, strongly ridged, lobes linear, (4–)8–22 mm;
corolla purplish pink, eye greenish yellow, projections of eye into corolla lobes with a red border alternating with shorter white or paler yellow zones, tube 3–8 mm, lobes elliptic-rhombic, that is, widest near middle, 9–20 × 4–19 mm, apex ± acute;
anthers coiling circinately.
= 76.
Sabatia capitata
Sabatia formosa
Sabatia capitata is endemic to the southernmost portions of the Cumberland Plateau and the Ridge and Valley Province in northern and central Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee. An old specimen was labeled by a later recipient as being from North Carolina, but its provenance is uncertain.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sabatia formosa closely resembles S. campestris, within which it often has been included. By its earlier flowering, however, S. formosa is to some degree reproductively isolated from S. campestris where the two species are sympatric. N. B. Bell and L. J. Lester (1980) provided molecular as well as morphological evidence supporting the recognition of S. formosa as a species, and further morphological support has been found in studies for this flora. In S. formosa, the largest leaves are generally at and near the base of the stem, with the basal rosette usually persisting at flowering time. In S. campestris, the proximal leaves are generally smaller than those at mid stem, and the basal rosette is absent. The corollas of S. formosa are more deeply pigmented than those of S. campestris. The corolla lobes of S. formosa tend to be elliptic-rhombic, widest near the middle, whereas those of S. campestris are obovate, widest distally.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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