Flora of North America species comparison

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Smelowskia

Smelowskia pyriformis

candytuft, false candytuft, smelowskia

pearshape smelowskia
Habit Plants cespitose, caudex well-developed, thick, often-branched, covered with persistent petiolar remains; not scapose; usually pubescent. Plants sometimes canescent throughout; caudex simple.
Stems

erect to decumbent, unbranched or branched distally, densely pubescent.

usually several, rarely simple from base, usually unbranched, rarely branched, 0.5–2.4(–3) dm, trichomes simple, to 1.3 mm, mixed with smaller, dendritic ones.
Leaves

basal and cauline;

petiolate or sessile;

basal rosulate, petiolate, blade margins usually 1- or 2-pinnatisect, rarely entire.

Basal leaves

petiole 1–4 cm, often ciliate, trichomes simple;

blade broadly ovate to oblong in outline, (terminal segments oblong to or ovate), 1–2.2 cm × 8–15 mm, (terminal segments 0.4–1 cm × 1.5–3 mm), margins pinnatifid, apex obtuse.
Cauline leaves

shortly petiolate or sessile;

blade similar to basal, smaller distally.
Racemes

(corymbose, several-flowered), often considerably elongated in fruit.

considerably elongated in fruit.
Flowers

sepals (sometimes persistent), oblong [ovate];

petals spatulate to obovate or suborbicular, (longer than sepals), claw differentiated from blade, (apex rounded);

stamens slightly tetradynamous;

filaments often dilated basally;

anthers ovate or oblong, (apex obtuse);

nectar glands usually confluent, subtending bases of stamens, median glands present or not.

sepals 1.2–2.2 mm;

petals purple, lavender, or white, suborbicular to obovate, 2.5–4.5 × 1–2.5 mm, narrowed to claw, 1–2 mm, apex rounded;

anthers ovate, 0.3–0.5 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

ascending, spreading, suberect, or divaricate [recurved], slender.

ascending to divaricate-ascending, (often forming less than 40˚ angle), proximalmost bracteate, 5–15(–20) mm, pubescent, trichomes simple (to 1.4 mm), mixed with smaller, dendritic ones.
Fruits

siliques or silicles, usually sessile, rarely shortly stipitate, linear, oblong, obovoid, ellipsoid, spatulate, oblanceolate, suboblong, or pyriform [fusiform, ovoid, suborbicular], smooth, 4-angled, angustiseptate, terete, or subterete [latiseptate];

valves each with prominent or obscure midvein, usually glabrous;

replum rounded;

septum complete or perforated;

ovules 4–18 per ovary;

stigma capitate.

ascending, pyriform, subterete, 5–9 × 2.5–4 mm, base cuneate, apex rounded;

valves each with prominent midvein;

ovules 4 per ovary;

style 0.4–1.2 mm.
Seeds

plump, not winged, usually oblong, rarely oblong-lanceolate;

seed coat (minutely reticulate), not mucilaginous when wetted;

cotyledons incumbent or accumbent.

(oblong-lanceolate) 2.5–3.2 × 1–1.5 mm.
2n

= 12.

Smelowskia

Smelowskia pyriformis
Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Loose talus, scree slopes, shale ridgetops, limestone volcanic rubble, mixed sandstone-siltstone-carbonate scree
Elevation 600-1700 m (2000-5600 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
North America; e Asia; c Asia
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 25 (7 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Basal leaves: blade margins entire, apically 3 or 5-toothed or -lobed, or palmately lobed
→ 2
1. Basal leaves: blade margins 1- or 2-pinnatisect or pinnatifid
→ 4
2. Basal leaves: blade margins deeply palmately (3 or) 5 (or 7)-lobed; fruiting pedicels secund; sepals usually persistent; fruits angustiseptate, (8-)12-28 × 4-8 mm; ovules 10-18 per ovary.
S. borealis
2. Basal leaves: blade margins entire or apically 3 or 5-toothed or -lobed; fruiting pedicels not secund; sepals caducous; fruits subterete or slightly 4-angled, 5-10 × 1.5-3 mm; ovules 4-8 per ovary
→ 3
3. Basal leaf blade surfaces densely silvery villous, trichomes mostly simple, 1-1.8 mm; petals lavender to purplish; fruiting pedicels 11-27 mm; fruit valves each with obscure midvein; ovules 4 per ovary; seeds 2.2-2.7 mm.
S. johnsonii
3. Basal leaf blade surfaces densely grayish tomentose, trichomes mostly dendritic with fewer simple ones, to 1 mm; petals white or creamy white; fruiting pedicels 4-12 mm; fruit valves each with prominent midvein; ovules 4-8 per ovary; seeds 1.5-2 mm.
S. porsildii
4. Sepals persistent; fruits 2-6 mm, bases obtuse, valves each with obscure midvein.
S. ovalis
4. Sepals caducous; fruits 5-13 mm, bases cuneate, valves each with prominent midvein
→ 5
5. Fruits pyriform, subterete, apices rounded; ovules 4 per ovary; seeds 2.5-3.2 × 1-1.5 mm.
S. pyriformis
5. Fruits fusiform, ellipsoid, oblong, or linear, 4-angled, apices cuneate; ovules 8-12 (-14) per ovary; seeds 1.1-2.2 × 0.6-1.1 mm
→ 6
6. Fruiting pedicels suberect to ascending, subappressed to rachises, forming less than 40˚ angle; seeds 1.1-1.9 × 0.6-0.9 mm; Alberta, British Columbia, Mountain and Pacific states.
S. americana
6. Fruiting pedicels usually spreading to divaricate, rarely divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachises, often forming greater than 40˚ angle; seeds 1.7-2.2 × 0.9-1.1 mm; Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon.
S. media
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 671. Author: Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz. FNA vol. 7, p. 675.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Smelowskieae Brassicaceae > tribe Smelowskieae > Smelowskia
Sibling taxa
S. americana, S. borealis, S. johnsonii, S. media, S. ovalis, S. porsildii
Subordinate taxa
S. americana, S. borealis, S. johnsonii, S. media, S. ovalis, S. porsildii, S. pyriformis
Synonyms Acroschizocarpus, Ermania, Melanidion
Name authority C. A. Meyer: in C. F. von Ledebour, Icon. Pl. 2: 17, plate 151. (1830) W. H. Drury & Rollins: Rhodora 54: 108, fig. 3B. (1952)
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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