Flora of North America species comparison

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Synthyris missurica

kittentails, mountain kittentail, tail kittentails
Leaves

persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand;

blade orbiculate to reniform, 25+ mm wide, not leathery, base cordate to lobate, margins ± incised-crenate to dentate, teeth apices rounded to acute or acuminate, surfaces glabrous, rarely sparsely hairy;

basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 2–4 on each side of midvein.
Racemes

erect, to 33 cm in fruit;

sterile bracts 3+, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm;

flowers 12–100, loosely aggregated.
Stamens

epipetalous.
Ovaries

ovules 10–16.
Capsules

glabrous or glabrescent.
Sepals

4.
Petals

(3 or)4(or 5), apex entire or erose;

corolla blue, ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, glabrous or puberulent, tube conspicuous.

Synthyris missurica
Distribution
map from FNA
CA; ID; MT; OR; WA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Synthyris
Sibling taxa
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, S. canbyi, S. cordata, S. dissecta, S. laciniata, S. lanuginosa, S. oblongifolia, S. pinnatifida, S. plantaginea, S. platycarpa, S. ranunculina, S. reniformis, S. ritteriana, S. rubra, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
Subordinate taxa
S. missurica subsp. major, S. missurica subsp. missurica, S. missurica subsp. stellata
Key
1. Racemes usually 20–100-flowered, to 33 cm at end of flowering; ovaries glabrous; capsules glabrous.
subsp. major
1. Racemes usually 12–45-flowered, to 25 cm at end of flowering; ovaries sparsely hairy, especially along margins; capsules glabrescent.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade margins regularly toothed; racemes to 20 cm at end of flowering.
subsp. missurica
2. Leaf blade margins regularly to irregularly toothed; racemes to 25 cm at end of flowering.
subsp. stellata
Synonyms Veronica missurica
Name authority (Rafinesque) Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 85: 89. (1933)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 300. Treatment author: Larry D. Hufford.
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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