Synthyris pinnatifida |
Synthyris plantaginea |
|
---|---|---|
feather-leaf kittentail |
foothills kittentail, White River kittentails |
|
Leaves | persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand; blade oblong-ovate to ovate, 25+ mm wide, not leathery, base lobate, margins 1- or 2-pinnatifid, teeth apices obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous or villous; basal veins extending through proximal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 2–4 on each side of midvein. |
strictly annual, disintegrating in 1st year; blade narrowly to broadly ovate, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base obtuse to rounded or lobate, margins crenate, teeth apices acute to obtuse, surfaces sparsely hairy to villous; basal veins extending through proximal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 5–12 on each side of midvein. |
Racemes | erect, to 30 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 3+, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 10–40, loosely aggregated. |
erect, to 40 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 9–31, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit). |
Stamens | epipetalous. |
inserted on receptacle. |
Ovaries | ovules 10–16. |
glabrous; 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(or 5), apex entire or erose; corolla pink to white, bilabiate, ellipsoid, 0–2 mm longer than calyx, glabrous or sparsely hairy, lateral and abaxial petals of abaxial lip connate 1/2+ their lengths, tube absent. |
Synthyris pinnatifida |
Synthyris plantaginea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Aug; fruiting May–Oct. | Flowering May–Jun; fruiting May–Aug. |
Habitat | Forest openings, subalpine meadows, alpine tundra. | Montane to subalpine meadows, open, montane, conifer forests. |
Elevation | 2100–3800 m. (6900–12500 ft.) | 1800–3400 m. (5900–11200 ft.) |
Distribution |
ID; UT; WY
|
AZ; CO; NM; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua)
|
Discussion | Flowering in plants of Synthyris pinnatifida begins at the margins of melting snow banks. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Both diploid (2n = 24) and tetraploid (2n = 48; described as Besseya gooddingii Pennell) populations have been discovered among southern populations of Synthyris plantaginea in Arizona (C. G. Schaack 1983). Synthyris plantaginea is a host for the checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia), which sequesters iridoid glycosides as it consumes the leaves (K. M. L’Empereur and F. R. Stermitz 1990). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 302. | FNA vol. 17, p. 302. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Veronica paysonii | Veronica plantaginea, Besseya plantaginea |
Name authority | S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 227, plate 22, figs. 1, 2 [ — as pinnata]. 1871 | (E. James) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 455. (1846) |
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