Synthyris schizantha |
Synthyris alpina |
|
---|---|---|
fringe kitten-tails, fringe kittentail, fringe-petal kitten's-tail, fringepetal kittentails |
alpine kittentail or besseya, alpine kittentails |
|
Leaves | persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand; blade ovate to reniform or orbiculate, 25+ mm wide, chartaceous, base cordate to lobate, margins incised-crenate, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces ± hairy; basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 2–4 on each side of midvein. |
strictly annual, disintegrating in 1st year; blade ovate to slightly cordate, sometimes oblong, 25+ mm wide, leathery, base cuneate, truncate, cordate, or lobate, margins crenate, teeth apices acute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy; basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 3–6 on each side of midvein. |
Racemes | erect, to 35 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 2, fan-shaped, largest 2+ cm; flowers 15–80, loosely aggregated. |
erect, to 10 cm in fruit; sterile bracts 5–14, ovate-spatulate, largest 1+ cm; flowers 100+, densely aggregated (separating in fruit). |
Stamens | epipetalous. |
inserted on receptacle. |
Ovaries | ovules 2–7. |
ovules 17–40. |
Capsules | glabrous or sparsely hairy along margins. |
glabrous. |
Sepals | 4. |
4. |
Petals | (3 or)4(or 5), apex laciniate; corolla blue to lavender with veins deeper colored (except tube yellowish white), ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, glabrous, tube conspicuous. |
(3 or)4(or 5), apex entire or erose; corolla blue, bluish purple, lavender, or reddish, bilabiate, ± rudimentary, tubular, longer than calyx, glabrous, lateral and abaxial petals of abaxial lip connate 1/2+ their lengths, tube absent. |
Synthyris schizantha |
Synthyris alpina |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jun; fruiting May–Aug. | Flowering May–Aug; fruiting Jun–Sep. |
Habitat | Moist slopes, forest edges. | Stony alpine meadows or fellfields. |
Elevation | 900–1400 m. (3000–4600 ft.) | 2800–4300 m. (9200–14100 ft.) |
Distribution |
OR; WA
|
CO; NM; UT; WY
|
Discussion | Synthyris schizantha is known from the southern Olympic Mountains in Grays Harbor County and the Cascade Mountains in Lewis County, Washington, and in the vicinity of Saddle Mountain in Clatsop County, Oregon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Synthyris alpina is a host plant for checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia), which consumes leaves and sequesters iridoid glycosides (K. M. L’Empereur and F. R. Stermitz 1990). Flowering in plants of S. alpina begins at the margins of melting snow banks. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 304. | FNA vol. 17, p. 298. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Veronica schizantha | Besseya alpina, Veronica besseya |
Name authority | Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 29: 223. (1902) | A. Gray: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 251. (1862) |
Web links |