Synthyris pinnatifida |
Synthyris rubra |
|
---|---|---|
feather-leaf kittentail |
red besseya, red coraldrops, red kittentail or coraldrops |
|
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 oblong-ovate to ovate, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base cuneate, truncate, or rounded to lobate, sometimes cordate, margins crenate, teeth apices acute to rounded, surfaces sparsely hairy; basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 3–6 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 45 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 10–30, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit). |
Stamens | epipetalous. |
inserted on receptacle. |
Ovaries | ovules 10–16. |
ovules 17–40. |
Capsules | glabrous. |
densely hairy. |
Sepals | 4. |
4, basal connation between abaxial and adaxial lobes on each side of flower. |
Petals | (3 or)4(or 5), apex entire or erose; corolla blue, ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, glabrous, tube conspicuous. |
1–4, apex entire or erose; corolla reddish, bluish purple, green, or white, bilabiate or unilabiate, rudimentary, much shorter than calyx, glabrous, lateral and abaxial petals of abaxial lip connate 1/2+ their lengths, abaxial and adaxial petal lips basally adnate to stamens, tube absent. |
Synthyris pinnatifida |
Synthyris rubra |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Aug; fruiting May–Oct. | Flowering Mar–Jun; fruiting Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Forest openings, subalpine meadows, alpine tundra. | Grasslands, open coniferous forests. |
Elevation | 2100–3800 m. (6900–12500 ft.) | 200–1700 m. (700–5600 ft.) |
Distribution |
ID; UT; WY
|
ID; MT; OR; WA
|
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.) |
Natural hybrids of Synthyris missurica and S. rubra occur near Kamiah, Idaho (A. R. Kruckeberg and F. L. Hedglin 1963). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 302. | FNA vol. 17, p. 304. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris | Plantaginaceae > Synthyris |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Veronica paysonii | Gymnandra rubra, Besseya rubra, Veronica rubra |
Name authority | S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 227, plate 22, figs. 1, 2 [ — as pinnata]. 1871 | (Douglas ex Hooker) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 455. (1846) |
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