Synthyris laciniata |
Synthyris ritteriana |
|
---|---|---|
cut-leaf kittentail, western kittentails |
Ritters' kittentail |
|
Leaves | persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand; blade ± orbiculate, reniform, or cordate, 25+ mm wide, not leathery, base cordate or lobate, margins ± laciniate, sometimes palmately lobed or incised-crenate, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy; basal veins usually extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 2–4 on each side of midvein. |
strictly annual, disintegrating in 1st year; blade broadly elliptic to lanceolate, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base truncate to tapered, margins crenate, teeth apices acute to rounded, surfaces hairy; basal veins extending through proximal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 5–12 on each side of midvein. |
Racemes | erect, to 20 cm (usually less than 25 cm in fruit); sterile bracts 3+, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 15–40, loosely aggregated. |
erect, to 40 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 10–40, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit). |
Stamens | epipetalous. |
inserted on receptacle, but abaxial and adaxial petal lips basally adnate to stamens. |
Ovaries | ovules 10–16. |
glabrous or sparsely hairy at apex; ovules 17–40. |
Capsules | glabrous. |
glabrous. |
Sepals | 4. |
4. |
Petals | (3 or)4(or 5), apex entire or erose; corolla blue, ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, glabrous, tube conspicuous. |
3(or 4), apex entire or erose; corolla yellow, bilabiate, ellipsoid, longer than calyx, puberulent on margins, lateral and abaxial petals of abaxial lip connate 1/2+ their lengths, abaxial and adaxial petal lips basally adnate to stamens, tube absent. |
Synthyris laciniata |
Synthyris ritteriana |
|
Phenology | Flowering late May–Aug; fruiting Jun–Oct. | Flowering May–Aug; fruiting Jun–Oct. |
Habitat | Subalpine meadows, alpine tundra, fellfields. | Moist subalpine or alpine meadows. |
Elevation | 2900–4000 m. (9500–13100 ft.) | 2100–3800 m. (6900–12500 ft.) |
Distribution |
UT
|
CO |
Discussion | Synthyris laciniata is found only in high mountain areas of central to west-central and southern Utah. Flowering in S. laciniata begins at the margins of melting snow banks. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Synthyris ritteriana is known from the San Juan and La Plata mountains, and adjacent areas of Gunnison and Montrose counties on San Juan and Hansen tuffs. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 300. | FNA vol. 17, p. 303. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. pinnatifida var. laciniata, Veronica utahensis | Besseya ritteriana, Veronica ritteriana |
Name authority | (A. Gray) Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 353. (1900) | Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 3, 1: 123, plate 9, fig. 2. (1898) |
Web links |