Johanneshowellia
Brittonia 56: 299. 2004.
Taxon | Illustrator ⠉ | |
---|---|---|
Nemacaulis denudata var. denudata Johanneshowellia puberula Hollisteria lanata |
Herbs, annual; taproot slender. Stems arising directly from the root, weakly erect to spreading, solid, not fistulose or disarticulating into ringlike segments, silky-puberulent. Leaves usually quickly deciduous, basal, rosulate; petiole present; blade obovate to rounded or somewhat reniform, margins entire. Inflorescences terminal, cymose; branches dichotomous or trichotomous at proximal node, otherwise dichotomous, not brittle or disarticulating into segments, round, silky-puberulent; bracts 3, connate proximally, triangular or linear to narrowly lanceolate, scalelike or somewhat leaflike, not awned, glabrous to puberulent. Peduncles absent. Involucral-bracts obscure, in tight spiral of (3–) 4 (–7) distinct, oblanceolate to obovate lobes, bractlike, not awned. Flowers 4–7 per involucral cluster; perianth white or pale yellowish to rose or red, broadly campanulate when open, narrowly urceolate when closed, smooth or minutely pustulose abaxially, glabrous; tepals 6, connate 1/4 their length, monomorphic or slightly dimorphic, entire apically; stamens 9; filaments basally adnate, glabrous; anthers white to pale-pink, oblong. Achenes included, light-brown, not winged, 3-gonous, glabrous. Seeds: embryo curved.
Distribution
w United States
Discussion
Species 2 (2 in the flora).
With recognition of Johanneshowellia, all members of Eriogonum have their involucral bracts fused into a distinct, turbinate to campanulate or hemispheric, tubular structure. In Johanneshowellia, the four to seven, distinct, involucral bracts are arranged in a tight spiral. Each 0.5–1.2 mm, awnless, entire to deeply lobed bract subtends a flower-bearing pedicel. These involucral bracts are themselves usually obscured by inflorescence bracts that subtend each node. As a result, care must be taken to observe the true nature of the involucral complex. The genus is allied with Eriogonum subg. Oregonium.
Selected References
None.
Key
1 | Perianths minutely pustulose basally and along midribs, 1.5-2 mm in fruit; outer tepals narrowly ovate, slightly auriculate basally with slightly undulate-crisped margins in fruit; plants grayish to greenish, mostly densely silky-puberulent | Johanneshowellia puberula |
1 | Perianths smooth, 2-2.5 mm in fruit; tepals lanceolate, not auriculate basally, margins entire; plants reddish, thinly silky-puberulent | Johanneshowellia crateriorum |
"/2" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.