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red besseya, red coraldrops, red kittentail or coraldrops

cut-leaf kittentail

Leaves

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.

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, ultimate lobes oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear, teeth apices obtuse, surfaces glabrous, sparsely hairy, puberulous, sparsely villous, or tomentose;

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

Racemes

erect, to 45 cm in fruit;

sterile bracts 10–30, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm;

flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit).

erect, to 15 cm in fruit;

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

flowers 10–30, loosely aggregated.

Stamens

inserted on receptacle.

epipetalous.

Ovaries

ovules 17–40.

pilose to tomentose;

ovules 10–16.

Capsules

densely hairy.

hairy.

Sepals

4, basal connation between abaxial and adaxial lobes on each side of flower.

4.

Petals

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.

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

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

Synthyris rubra

Synthyris dissecta

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun; fruiting Apr–Jul. Flowering May–Jul; fruiting Jun–Sep.
Habitat Grasslands, open coniferous forests. Treeline to alpine tundra.
Elevation 200–1700 m. (700–5600 ft.) 1600–3000 m. (5200–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
ID; MT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Synthyris dissecta is found in east-central Idaho and southwestern Montana.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 304. FNA vol. 17, p. 300.
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. reniformis, S. ritteriana, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, S. canbyi, S. cordata, 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 Gymnandra rubra, Besseya rubra, Veronica rubra S. pinnatifida var. canescens, Veronica dissecta
Name authority (Douglas ex Hooker) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 455. (1846) Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 691. (1909)
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