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round-leaf kittentail, snow queen

Canby's kittentail, mission mountain kittentails

Leaves

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

blade cordate to reniform, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base cordate to lobate, margins incised-crenate, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous or hairy;

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

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

blade ovate or cordate, 25+ mm wide, not leathery, base cordate to lobate, margins ± incised-crenate or laciniate to ± pinnatifid, sometimes ± palmately lobed, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces sparsely hairy;

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

Racemes

decumbent, to 18 cm in fruit;

sterile bracts usually 0;

flowers 5–10, loosely aggregated.

erect, to 16 cm in fruit;

sterile bracts 2+, ovate-spatulate, sometimes 1+ cm;

flowers 10–50, loosely aggregated.

Stamens

epipetalous.

epipetalous.

Ovaries

ovules 4.

glabrous or sparsely hairy at apex;

ovules 10–16.

Capsules

sparsely hairy.

glabrous or sparsely hairy.

Sepals

4.

4.

Petals

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

corolla blue, ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, puberulent-villous in throat, tube conspicuous.

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

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

Synthyris reniformis

Synthyris canbyi

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun; fruiting Apr–Aug. Flowering Jun–Jul; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat Forests. Alpine ridges, scree slopes.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) 2100–3200 m. (6900–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
MT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Synthyris canbyi is known from the Mission, Rattlesnake, and Swan mountain ranges of northwest Montana. Flowering in S. canbyi begins at the margins of melting snow banks. Specimens from the southern end of the Mission Range appear intermediate between S. canbyi and S. dissecta.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 303. FNA vol. 17, p. 299.
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. pinnatifida, S. plantaginea, S. platycarpa, S. ranunculina, S. ritteriana, S. rubra, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, 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. rubra, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
Synonyms Wulfenia reniformis, Veronica regina-nivalis Veronica canbyi
Name authority (Douglas ex Bentham) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 454. (1846) Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 85: 93. (1933)
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