The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

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
from FNA
ID; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
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
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, S. canbyi, S. cordata, S. dissecta, S. laciniata, S. lanuginosa, S. missurica, S. oblongifolia, S. plantaginea, S. platycarpa, S. ranunculina, S. reniformis, S. ritteriana, S. rubra, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, S. canbyi, S. cordata, S. dissecta, S. laciniata, S. lanuginosa, S. missurica, S. oblongifolia, S. pinnatifida, S. plantaginea, S. platycarpa, S. ranunculina, S. reniformis, S. ritteriana, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
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)
Web links