TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Shrub, tree, generally dioecious (rarely monoecious)
Stem: trunk < 40 m; wood soft; bark smooth, bitter; buds scaly
Leaves simple, alternate, deciduous; stipules generally deciduous, often large
Inflorescence: catkin, generally appearing before leaves; each flower subtended by disk or 12 nectary glands and 1 bract
Flower: perianth 0
Staminate flower: stamens 1many
Pistillate flower: pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, stigma lobes 24
Seeds many; hairs fine, white, cottony
Fruit: capsule; valves 24
Genera in family: 2 genera, 340 species: generally temp (except Australia, Malay Archipelago) moist places; many cultivated. Hybridization common; identification often difficult. Family description, key to genera by John O. Sawyer, Jr.
Shrub, tree, dioecious; bud scale 1, not sticky, margins generally fused (or free, overlapping)
Stem: twigs generally flexible and not glaucous
Leaf: blade linear to widely obovate, entire to toothed, generally ± hairy
Inflorescence: dense catkin emerging before, with, or after leaves, sessile or on a short leafy shoot; bract subtending each flower
Flower: perianth 0
Staminate flower: stamens 18
Pistillate flower: ovary stalked or sessile, style 1 or 0, stigmas 2, each sometimes 2-lobed; nectaries 1several, generally rod-like, generally between inflorescence axis and flower
Fruit: valves 2
Species in genus: ± 400 species: ± worldwide, especially n temp, arctic
Etymology: (Latin: ancient name)
Reference: [Argus 1986 Syst Bot Monog 9:1170; Dorn 1976 Canad J Bot 54:27692789]
Difficult, highly variable. Not all specimens will key easily; sprout shoots and other extreme forms are not included in keys, may require field comparison for identification. Studies of variation, hybridization needed.
Native |
Shrub < 6 m
Stem: twigs gray- to red-brown, glabrous or shaggy-hairy
Leaves: petiole generally with glands; young leaves shaggy-hairy; mature blade 26102 mm, lanceolate to widely elliptic, acute (base rounded to acute), entire to finely serrate, soft-shaggy-hairy, becoming glabrous, shiny above, not glaucous below
Inflorescence appearing before or with leaves, 1070 mm, sessile or on leafy shoots < 15 mm (margins of shoot-leaves gland-dotted or finely serrate); flower bract generally dark brown, hairs wavy
Staminate flower: stamens 2
Pistillate flower: ovary glabrous, style 0.31 mm, stalk 0.52.5 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=76
Ecology: Uncommon. Wet subalpine meadows, shores
Elevation: 17003200 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, High Cascade Range, n High Sierra Nevada, Warner Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains
Distribution outside California: to w Canada, Colorado
Flowering time: JunJul
Synonyms: S. pseudocordata Andersson; S. myrtillifolia Andersson misapplied