Eriocaulon microcephalum

Kunth in A. von Humboldt et al.

in A. von Humboldt et al.,Nov. Gen. Sp. 1: 253. 1816.

Treatment appears in FNA Volume 22.

Herbs, perennial, to 5 cm. Leaves: narrowly triangular-acuminate, 1.5–3 cm, apex narrow, blunt, calloused. Inflorescences: scape sheaths mostly shorter than longer leaves, dilated apically; scapes linear, 1 mm wide, distally 4–5-ribbed; mature heads pale, hemispheric to globose, 3–4 mm wide, soft; receptacle glabrous or sparsely pilose; involucral-bracts erect or ascending, nearly covering head, yellow-white or yellowbrown, broadly obovate to suborbiculate, grading narrower inward, 2 mm, margins entire, erose with age, apex rounded, surfaces glabrous; receptacular bracteoles dark-brown, narrowly obovate, 2 mm, margins entire, erose with age, apex obtuse, margins and abaxial surface with scattered, stubby, white, multicellular hairs. Staminate flowers: sepals 3, gray, cuneate-spatulate, 2 mm; apex shallowly 3-cleft, surfaces distally hairy, ciliolate, hairs white, stubby; androphore cylindric; petals 3, minute, unequal, white-ciliate; stamens 6; anthers nearly black. Pistillate flowers: sepals 3, gray, translucent, curved, keeled, 2 mm, apex rounded, apiculate, ciliate, hairy with white, blunt hairs; petals 3, yellow-white, oblong or narrowly spatulate, flat, 2 mm, apex rounded, blade adaxially pilose with translucent hairs, apically ciliate with white hairs; pistil 3-carpellate. Seeds rich redbrown, ovoid or ellipsoid, 0.6–0.8 mm, faintly reticulate with horizontally aligned rectangular alveolae.


Phenology: Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat: Moist boggy upland meadows (paramos), western-montane
Elevation: above 1000 m

Distribution

V22 54-distribution-map.jpg

Calif., Mexico, Central America, South America

Discussion

Eriocaulon microcephalum is known in the flora only from one locality, Kern County, California; this was a collection by L. J. Xantus de Vesey in 1857–58 from "vicinity of Fort Tijon." It has not been found since. The specimen differs, however, in no way from those I have seen throughout the range, and in light of the number of Mexican western cordilleran plant species that have been continuously discovered in California, it seems best to include the species here.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"narrowing" is not a number."narrower" is not a number.

... more about "Eriocaulon microcephalum"
rectangular +
longitudinal +
versatile +  and dorsifixed +
apiculate +  and 3-cleft +
rounded +, obtuse +  and blunt +
calloused +
peglike +  and glandlike +
cleft +, fringed +  and bladelike +
Robert Kral +
Kunth in A. von Humboldt et al. +
branching +, monopodial +  and sympodial +
lacunate +
stipelike +
greener +  and pale +
lingulate;triangular-acuminate;linear-attenuate +
Calif. +, Mexico +, Central America +  and South America +
above 1000 m +
mealy-starchy +
epipetalous +
pistillate +  and staminate +
unappendaged +
pale +  and dark +
subapical +  and adaxial +
Moist boggy upland meadows (paramos), western-montane +
multicellular +
blunt +  and stubby +
hemispheric;globose +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
involucrate +  and simple +
axillary +  and terminal +
short-cylindric +  and buttonlike +
yellowbrown +  and yellow-white +
ascending +  and erect +
not obscured +  and obscured +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
septate +  and unbranched +
triangular-acuminate +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
orthotropous +  and pendulous +
adaxial-apical +
separating +  and separated +
yellow-white +
spatulate;oblong +
unequal +  and minute +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
Flowering summer–fall. +
in A. von Humboldt et al.,Nov. Gen. Sp. +
pilose +  and glabrous +
thinner +  and narrower +
spongy-septate +
spongy +  and fibrous +
multiribbed +, twisted +  and simple +
1;several +
sculptured +
ellipsoid +  and ovoid +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
keeled;cuneate-spatulate +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
dilated +
unequal +
prostrate +  and repent +
elongate +
short-to-elongate +
unappendaged +
ciliolate +, hairy +  and glabrous +
Eriocaulon microcephalum +
Eriocaulon +
species +
scapose +  and caulescent +
pubescent +  and glabrous +