Geum schofieldii
Geum vernum
queen Charlotte avens
heartleaf avens, spring avens
13–30 cm, puberulent, hairs scattered, 0.1–1 mm.
20–70 cm, pilose or sparsely pilose, hairs septate.
basal 5–25 cm, blade interruptedly lyrate-pinnate, major leaflets 5–7, interspersed with 2–8 minor ones increasing in size distally, terminal leaflet larger than major laterals;
cauline 1.5–4.5 cm, stipules adnate to leaf, indistinguishable from pair of lobes, blade bractlike, not resembling basal, simple, 3-fid.
basal 4–27 cm, blade simple or pinnate, leaflets 3–11, terminal leaflet larger;
cauline 2–7 cm, stipules ± free, 8–25 × 7–12 mm, blade pinnate to 3-foliolate.
1-flowered.
3–13-flowered.
densely puberulent, sometimes glandular.
glandular-downy, becoming glabrate in fruit.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets 4–8 mm;
hypanthium green;
sepals erect to erect-spreading, 7–12 mm;
petals spreading, yellow, broadly obovate to nearly orbiculate, 14–16 mm, distinctly longer than sepals, apex broadly rounded to irregularly emarginate.
erect;
epicalyx bractlets absent;
hypanthium green;
sepals reflexed, 1–3 mm;
petals spreading, yellow to cream, oblong to elliptic, sometimes obovate, 1–2 mm, equal to or shorter than sepals, apex rounded.
sessile, glabrous.
on 3–7 mm stipes, glabrous.
wholly persistent, not geniculate-jointed, 7–10 mm, apex not or ± hooked, pilose only on bases.
geniculate-jointed, proximal segment persistent, 1.5–3 mm, apex hooked, nearly glabrous except for few septate-glandular hairs, distal segment deciduous, 0.7–1 mm, nearly glabrous except for short hairs.
= 112.
= 42.
Geum schofieldii
Geum vernum
Of conservation concern.
Geum schofieldii is one of the more attractive yet seldom seen species of avens in North America; it is known from the rocky wet mountains of the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Vancouver Island.
Because Geum schofieldii appears to be intermediate morphologically between G. calthifolium and G. rossii, some botanists have considered it to be a hybrid and included it in synonymy with G. ×macranthum [G. calthifolium × G. rossii]. The 16-ploid chromosome number (2n = 112) of G. schofieldii suggests an allopolyploid origin. Geum rossii is not known to occur in the Queen Charlotte Islands or on Vancouver Island; the plants cannot be of recent hybrid origin. Geum ×macranthum is found in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula where the two parental species overlap. Compared to G. schofieldii, its leaves are more pinnate than lyrate-pinnate, with 9 to 13 major leaflets instead of 5 to 7. Also, G. ×macranthum appears to be sterile; G. schofieldii appears to be fertile, suggesting that the latter is a valid species. The distinctness of G. schofieldii pollen also supports its specific status (R. J. Hebda and C. C. Chinnappa 1990).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Geum vernum is distinctive and is recognized by its early flowering, minute petals, lack of epicalyx bractlets, and heads of achenes soon elevated well beyond the recurved hypanthia and sepals. Recently, it has been expanding its range northward and has been collected with increasing frequency in southern Ontario, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin. No specimens could be located to confirm reports of G. vernum from Mississippi or Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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