Smelowskia porsildii
several from base, unbranched, (0.3–)0.5–1.4(–2) dm, trichomes simple, 0.3–1 mm, mixed with smaller, dendritic ones, (sometimes simple ones absent).
petiole 0.7–3(–4) cm, often ciliate, trichomes simple;
blade usually linear to oblanceolate or spatulate, rarely obovate, (0.5–)0.8–2.2(–3.5) cm × 0.7–5(–7) mm, margins usually entire, rarely apically 3 or 5-toothed or -lobed, apex obtuse to rounded, (surfaces densely tomentose, grayish, trichomes mostly dendritic, mixed with fewer, simple ones, to 1 mm).
shortly petiolate;
blade similar to basal, smaller distally, margins usually entire, rarely lobed.
elongated in fruit.
sepals 2.5–3.5 mm;
petals white or creamy white, suborbicular to obovate, 4–6 × 2–3(–4) mm, narrowed to claw, 1–2(–3) mm, apex rounded;
anthers oblong, 0.5–0.7 mm.
divaricate to ascending, (forming 30–70˚ angle), proximalmost bracteate, 4–12 mm, pubescent, trichomes simple mixed with smaller, dendritic ones.
divaricate to ascending, ellipsoid to oblong, subterete or slightly 4-angled, 6–10 × 1.5–2.5 mm, base and apex cuneate;
valves each with prominent midvein;
ovules 4–8 per ovary;
style 0.1–0.5 mm.
1.5–2 × 0.9–1.2 mm.
= 12, 22, 24.
Smelowskia porsildii
As delimited here, Smelowskia porsildii is taken in the broad sense to include plants recognized by W. H. Drury Jr. and R. C. Rollins (1952) and Rollins (1993) as S. calycina var. integrifolia. The latter was raised by Velichkin to species rank, named as S. spathulatifolia because of the earlier-published S. integrifolia Bunge. Leaf shape and pedicel orientation, used by those authors to distinguish the two taxa, vary continuously. The species is also highly variable in the relative occurrence of simple versus dendritic trichomes and leaf margins. Although I. A. Al-Shehbaz and S. I. Warwick (2006) reduced S. spathulatifolia to synonymy of S. porsildii, the latter most likely represents a complex in which S. media might be involved. Conflicting chromosome numbers (e.g., 2n = 12, 18, 22, 24, 32) have been reported for this complex (Warwick and Al-Shehbaz 2006), and detailed cytological and molecular studies are needed to resolve the taxa involved. The complex involves diploid and tetraploid populations based on x = 6; the counts of 2n = 18 and 32 most likely reflect misidentifications.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
