Flora of North America species comparison

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Trientalis latifolia

Myrsinaceae

broad-leaf starflower, northern starflower, starflower, western starflower

myrsine family
Stems

10–25 cm.

Leaves

mostly whorled at stem apex, some alternate on proximal stem;

blades of distal leaves elliptic to suborbiculate, (2.4–)4–11 cm × 15–55 mm (narrower in some plants along Vancouver Island and Washington coast), widest ± at midlength (proximal leaves abruptly much smaller, 0.1–0.5 cm × 0.7–1.3 mm, ± scalelike), apex rounded to acute.

cauline, alternate, opposite, whorled, or pseudowhorled, simple;

stipules absent;

petiole present or absent;

blade margins entire or sculpted.
Inflorescences

terminal or axillary racemes, panicles, cymes, verticillasters (umbellate), or solitary flowers.
Pedicels

1–5, 2.9–4.6 cm, shorter than to equaling leaves (sometimes longer in fruit), glabrous or sparsely glandular.

Flowers

corolla pink, rose, or pinkish lavender, 4.5–8.8 mm, lobes ovate to lanceolate, apex acuminate or abruptly acute.

bisexual (unisexual in Myrsine), usually radially symmetric;

perianth and androecium hypogynous;

sepals 4–6(–9 in Trientalis and some Lysimachia), connate proximally;

petals 4–6(–9 in Trientalis and some Lysimachia, absent in some Lysimachia), connate proximally to nearly distinct (Myrsine), corolla rotate, funnelform, campanulate, or salverform;

nectaries absent or sometimes nectariferous hairs present;

stamens usually 5 (sometimes 4 in Anagallis, 4–6 in Myrsine, or –9 in Trientalis), antipetalous, epipetalous (free in some Lysimachia);

filaments distinct or connate;

anthers dehiscent by longitudinal slits or apical pores;

staminodes usually absent (present in Myrsine and some Lysimachia);

pistils 1, 3–5-carpellate;

ovary superior, 1-locular;

placentation free-central with ± globose central axis;

ovules anatropous to campylotropous, uni- or bitegmic, usually embedded in placenta, tenuinucellate;

styles 1 or rudimentary (in some Myrsine), terminal;

stigmas 1, usually capitate to truncate (punctiform in Ardisia, conic in Myrsine).
Fruits

capsular, dehiscence valvate or circumscissile, or drupaceous.
Seeds

1–45, brown, reddish brown, black, or white, usually angular;

embryo straight or curved;

endosperm copious, starchless.
Perennial

or annual herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, or trees, deciduous (evergreen in Ardisia), often with secretory resin canals appearing as dark dots, streaks, or punctations on vegetative and/or floral parts.

Trientalis latifolia

Myrsinaceae
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Moist coniferous forests, stream banks, ocean cliffs
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
Nearly worldwide; herbaceous mainly in temperate regions and woody taxa mainly tropical
Discussion

In British Columbia, Trientalis latifolia is known from scattered populations along the coast and the American border. Specimens from a disjunct population in central Yukon (E. Hultén 1968; W. J. Cody 1996) were not examined.

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

The largest genera in Myrsinaceae are the tropical Myrsine (300 species), Ardisia (400–500 species), and Embelia Burman f. (130 species), and the temperate Lysimachia (ca. 160 species). No genera are endemic to the flora area; some species (in Lysimachia) have been introduced and become naturalized. Ardisia elliptica is introduced and has been named a Category I Invasive Species by the Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council (http://www.fleppc.org/list/07list_ctrfld.pdf).

Myrsinaceae is of limited economic value, mainly as ornamentals (some Anagallis, Ardisia, Lysimachia). Most taxa are pollinated by insects, particularly bees and flies, with nectar or pollen as rewards; some Lysimachia have oil-secreting hairs and are pollinated by oil-collecting bees (S. Vogel 1974+, vol. 2); selfing also occurs. Temperate seeds are dispersed by gravity, water, wind, or, possibly, ants or other ground-dwelling insects (B. Ståhl and A. A. Anderberg 2004).

As circumscribed here, Myrsinaceae are closely related to Primulaceae and Theophrastaceae. M. Källersjö et al. (2000) and B. Ståhl and A. A. Anderberg (2004) removed the nonrosette terrestrial members from Primulaceae and placed them in the Myrsinaceae (see further discussion under Primulaceae).

Additional evidence (A. A. Anderberg et al. 2007; L. Martins et al. 2003) indicates that Lysimachia is not monophyletic. Further, Glaux is now considered an apetalous member of Lysimachia (Anderberg et al.; Hao G. et al. 2004); Trientalis probably should be considered an extreme verticillate member of Lysimachia sect. Seleucia (Anderberg et al.; alluded to by J. D. Ray 1956); and some species of Anagallis are more closely related to Lysimachia (Anderberg et al.; M. Källersjö et al. 2000; Anderberg and B. Ståhl 1995) than to other members of Anagallis. More work is still needed to resolve these additional issues. Martins et al. presented nuclear rDNA evidence that Centunculus is basal within Lysimachieae and should not be included within Anagallis but this is not yet fully resolved. The phylogenetic position of Cyclamen, a scapose taxon, has not been resolved; Ståhl and Anderberg (2004) included it in this family because it shares developmental anatomy, leaf pigmentation, and other features. Our understanding of the family is clearly still in flux, and future taxonomic realignments at the familial and generic levels are to be expected.

Genera ca. 50, species ca. 1400 (5 genera, 32 species in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Trees or shrubs, rarely subshrubs; fruits drupaceous
→ 2
1. Herbs; fruits capsular
→ 3
2. Inflorescences paniculate, racemose, cymose, subumbellate, or umbellate, longer than petioles; flowers bisexual; stigmas punctiform.
Ardisia
2. Inflorescences fasciculate, shorter than petioles, (sessile or on accrescent peduncles girdled by persistent floral bracts); flowers unisexual; stigmas conic, 3-5-lobed.
Myrsine
3. Leaves clustered or whorled near stem tip, dimorphic, proximalmost leaves smaller; flowers (5-)7(-9)-merous.
Trientalis
3. Leaves usually evenly distributed along stem, usually monomorphic; flowers (4-)5-7 (-9)-merous
→ 4
4. Corollas white to pink, red, salmon, or blue; capsule dehiscence circumscissle; plants annual or perennial.
Anagallis
4. Corollas yellow or white (absent); capsule dehiscence valvate; plants perennial.
Lysimachia
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 305. FNA vol. 8, p. 302. Authors: Anita F. Cholewa, John J. Pipoly III, Jon M. Ricketson.
Parent taxa Myrsinaceae > Trientalis
Sibling taxa
T. borealis, T. europaea
Subordinate taxa
Anagallis, Ardisia, Lysimachia, Myrsine, Trientalis
Synonyms Alsinanthemum europaeum var. latifolium, T. borealis subsp. latifolia, T. europaea var. latifolia
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 121. 1838 , R. Brown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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