Liatris punctata var. mexicana

Gaiser

Rhodora 48: 354. 1946.

Synonyms: Liatris mucronata var. interrupta Gaiser
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 21. Treatment on page 519.

Corms elongate or becoming rhizomes. Leaves 50–120 × 2–7 mm. Heads in loose, spiciform arrays (widely spaced, stems evident). Involucres 10–15 mm. Phyllaries in 3–5 series. Florets 4–6.2n = 20, 40.


Phenology: Flowering Aug–Oct(–Nov).
Habitat: Gravelly and rocky slopes, canyon bottoms, grassy areas, mesquite, commonly over limestone
Elevation: 10–1800 m

Distribution

V21-1312-distribution-map.gif

La., N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua), Mexico (Coahuila), Mexico (Nuevo León), Mexico (San Luis Potosí), Mexico (Tamaulipas)

Discussion

In the southern third of Texas, and in adjacent Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mexico, heads of Liatris punctata tend to be more widely spaced than characteristic for the species over the rest of its range. The most distinctive plants are in trans-Pecos Texas (and Mexico), and they occur at higher elevations than those in the more eastern range. Corms usually are elongate or rhizomiform; Gaiser described L. mucronata var. interrupta from a variant with subglobose corms. Intergrades in head congestion also are encountered, even northward into the Texas panhandle, and the variety is not sharply delimited. The populations with widely separated heads probably were ancestral to L. bracteata and L. cymosa, as well as a race (yet unnamed) with piloso-hirsutulous leaves, which occurs on the Edwards Plateau.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"plumose" is not a number."fine" is not a number.

not tailed +, truncate +, rounded +  and obtuse +
rounded-truncate;rounded;rounded-truncate;rounded;obtuse;acute-acuminate;acute +
scarious +
usually ovate +  and lanceolate +
usually terete +  and clavate +
indeterminate +  and determinate +
Guy L. Nesom +
Gaiser +
decurrent +
not enlarged +
5-nerved +, 3-nerved +  and 1-nerved +
dissected +, lobed +, toothed +  and entire +
mostly linear;ovatelanceolate +
papillate +  and rugose +
(4-)5-angled;10-ribbed +
linear-clavate +
branched +  and simple +
white +, usually lavender +  and dark magenta or pinkish purple +
0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
usually hirsutulous +  and hirtellous-pilose +
prismatic +
fertile +  and bisexual +
La. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Mexico (Chihuahua) +, Mexico (Coahuila) +, Mexico (Nuevo León) +, Mexico (San Luis Potosí) +  and Mexico (Tamaulipas) +
10–1800 m +
pistillate +, staminate +  and neuter +
winged +  and beaked +
dispersed +
Gravelly and rocky slopes, canyon bottoms, grassy areas, mesquite, commonly over limestone +
in usually determinate , rarely indeterminate , arrays +  and singly +
indeterminate +
each +  and sessile +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
campanulate-cylindric +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
cauline +, proximal +  and basal +
piloso-hirsutulous +  and glabrous +
reduced +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
lanceolate +  and lance-linear +
2-carpellate +
persistent +
very rarely +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Flowering Aug–Oct(–Nov). +
18 +  and 40 +
bearing subulate enations +, hairy +  and bristly +
conic;spheric;usually flat;convex +
exalbuminous +
branched +  and simple +
appendaged +  and truncate +
hirsutulous +
papillate +
Liatris mucronata var. interrupta +
Liatris punctata var. mexicana +
Liatris punctata +
variety +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (180 cm1,800 mm <br />1.8 m <br />) +