Androsace elongata subsp. acuta

(Greene) G. T. Robbins

Amer. Midl. Naturalist 32: 154. 1944 ,.

Common names: California rock jasmine
Basionym: Androsace acuta Greene Man. Bot. San Francisco, 238. 1894
Synonyms: Androsace asprella Greene Androsace occidentalis var. acuta (Greene) Jepson Androsace septentrionalis var. subulifera A. Gray
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 261.

Plants annual, slender, not mat-forming. Leaves in single rosette; petiole absent; blade linear-lanceolate, 5–20 × 2–4 mm, base not narrowing to stem, margins ciliate, surfaces minutely hairy, hairs straight. Scapes usually 1, 2–8 cm, hairy to glabrescent. Inflorescences 2–6-flowered; involucral-bracts ovate to lanceolate, relatively broad. Pedicels arcuate, slender, unequal, 0.6–6 cm. Flowers: calyx campanulate, without prominent ridges, 3–5 mm, lobes stiffly erect, subulate, apex prominently acute; corolla-tube shorter than calyx, limb to 3 mm diam. Capsules slightly shorter than calyx, 2–5 mm. 2n = 40.


Phenology: Flowering early-mid summer.
Habitat: Open, grassy slopes
Elevation: 100-1200 m

Distribution

V8 534-distribution-map.gif

Calif., Nev., Oreg., Mexico (Baja California)

Discussion

Androsace elongata occurs across Eurasia. Subspecies acuta is found only on the very western portion of North America and differs only slightly from European plants, primarily in its narrower calyx lobes. Androsace elongata in the broad sense is very similar to A. septentrionalis, differing primarily in leaf indumentum and higher chromosome number. Molecular analyses may determine if the California taxon represents a disjunct population of the Eurasiatic A. elongata complex or, more likely, is a variant of the North American A. septentrionalis or A. occidentalis showing morphology parallel to that of the Eurasian entity. Pending these analyses, the species is retained here under A. elongata.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"elongating" is not a number.

not connivent +
emarginate;entire +
Sylvia Kelso +
(Greene) G. T. Robbins +
multiple +  and single +
cuneate +  and attenuate +
not narrowing +
Androsace acuta +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
crenulate +  and denticulate +
linear-lanceolate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
1 +  and 10 +
puberulent +, pilose +  and glabrous +
campanulate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
globose +  and subglobose +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
California rock jasmine +
campanulate;salverform +
Calif. +, Nev. +, Oreg. +  and Mexico (Baja California) +
100-1200 m +
operculate +  and capsular +
Open, grassy slopes +
grayish white +
straight +
nectariferous +
involucrate +  and 2-20-flowered +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
subulate +
dentate +  and entire +
tenuinucellate +  and bitegmic +
unequal +  and slender +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
fading;pink +
Flowering early-mid summer. +
Amer. Midl. Naturalist +
hairy +  and glabrescent +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
reticulate to almost +
trigonous +  and 4-angled to somewhat +
connate +  and distinct +
inflated +
Androsace asprella +, Androsace occidentalis var. acuta +  and Androsace septentrionalis var. subulifera +
Androsace elongata subsp. acuta +
Androsace elongata +
subspecies +
inflated +
stoloniferous +  and rhizomatous +
plant +  and not mat-forming +