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common false asphodel, Scotch false asphodel, small tofieldia

Stems

1.5–30 cm.

Leaf

blades to 8 cm × 3 mm.

Inflorescences

open, 3–35-flowered, 0.3–5 cm;

bracts whitish, margins deeply 3-lobed;

bracteoles absent.

Flowers

tepals white to yellowish green, 1.5–3 mm, inner tepals slightly longer than outer;

stamens ± equaling tepals;

ovary ellipsoid;

styles 0.3–0.4 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm.

Capsules

subglobose, 2.5–3 mm.

Seeds

0.6–0.8 mm.

2n

= 30.

Tofieldia pusilla

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Moist, open areas, often calcareous
Elevation 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; MI; MN; MT; AB; BC; MB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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Discussion

What appear to be hybrids between Tofieldia pusilla and T. coccinea occasionally occur in Greenland and the Northwest Territories. They are characterized by a leafy bract at or near the middle of the stem and enlarged, crimson bracts below the pedicels. In some suspected hybrids, the bracts are absent, and fused bracteoles, trunctate or lobed, sheathe the pedicels well below the flowers.

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 61.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Tofieldia
Sibling taxa
T. coccinea, T. glabra
Synonyms Narthecium pusillum
Name authority (Michaux) Persoon: Syn. Pl. 1: 399. (1805)
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