Key to Lasthenia

View taxon page for Lasthenia

(For a list of species in Lasthenia, use the above link.)

Jepson Manual glossary definitions can be seen by moving your cursor over words underlined with dots.

1. Phyllaries ± fused

2. Phyllaries fused < 1/2; leaves 

entire 

Having margins that are continuous and smooth (i.e., without teeth, lobes, etc.).

to pinnately lobed ..... L. conjugens

2' Phyllaries fused > 2/3; leaves entire

3. Pappus present ..... L. glaberrima

3' Pappus 0

4. Fruit strongly flattened, margin 

fringed 

Having ragged or finely cut margins.

with blunt hairs ..... L. chrysantha

4' Fruit not strongly flattened, glabrous or face 

papillate 

Pertaining to a surface (e.g., of a leaf, stigma, fruit) bearing small, rounded or conic protuberances (papillae).

or hairy

5. Fruit hairs short, curved ..... L. ferrisiae

5' Fruit glabrous or papillate ..... L. glabrata

6. Fruit papillate ..... subsp. coulteri

6' Fruit glabrous ..... subsp. glabrata

1' Phyllaries free

7. Receptacle narrowly conic; phyllaries generally 4–6

8. Ray <= 1 mm; 

involucre 

Group of bracts more or less held together as a unit, subtending a flower, fruit (acorn cup), or inflorescence.

 

cylindric 

Elongate, with parallel sides and, at any point, round in transverse section.

to narrowly obconic; disk corolla generally 4-lobed ..... L. microglossa

8' Ray > 2 mm; involucre obconic or bell-shaped; disk corolla generally 5-lobed

9. Stem coarse, hairy; anther tip triangular ..... L. debilis

9' Stem fine, wiry, glabrous proximally; anther tip awl-shaped ..... L. leptalea

7' Receptacle conic or hemispheric; phyllaries generally > 6

10. All leaves ± entire or with 3–5+ teeth; corolla dark red in alkali solution

11. Perennial herb (annual); coastal

12. Stem 

erect 

Upright; vertically oriented.

, 0–few-branched; root fleshy; 

leaf 

Organ arising from a stem, generally composed of a stalk (petiole) and a flat, expanded, green, photosynthetic area (blade); distinguished from a leaflet by the presence in its axil of a bud, branch, thorn, or flower; sometimes with lateral, basal appendages (stipules); either simple (toothed, lobed, or dissected but not divided into leaflets) or compound (divided into leaflets).

generally < 2 mm wide ..... L. californica subsp. bakeri

12' Stem ± 

decumbent 

lying mostly flat on the ground but with tips curving up.

, generally branched; root 

fibrous 

1. Pertaining to structures that are composed at least in part of more or less thread-like but usually tough elements (e.g., Yucca leaves). 2. Pertaining to a root system composed of many roots similar in length and thickness (e.g., grass roots).

; leaf generally > 2 mm wide ..... L. californica subsp. macrantha

11' Annual; coastal or inland

13. Pappus of 1–7 clear, brown, 

linear 

Elongate, with nearly parallel sides; narrower than elliptic or oblong.

to awl-like scales or 0 ..... L. californica subsp. californica

13' Pappus of (2)4(6) opaque, white, lance-ovate scales or 0 ..... L. gracilis

10' Mid-cauline leaves generally pinnately lobed; corolla yellow in alkali solution

14. Involucre obconic; phyllaries persistent; pappus of 

lanceolate 

Narrowly elongate, widest in the basal half, often tapered to an acute tip.

to 

ovate 

Egg-shaped (i.e., widest below the middle) in two dimensions (i.e., in one plane), as a leaf.

scales 

tapered 

Gradually (not abruptly) narrower or smaller at base or tip.

to tip ..... L. platycarpha

14' Involucre hemispheric to obconic; phyllaries persistent or deciduous with fruit; pappus of 1 or 2 kinds per fruit, or 0

15. Plant glandular, scented; pappus elements of 1 kind (if of 2 kinds, 

awns 

1. Bristle-like appendage or elongation, generally terminal. 2. Stiff, needle-like pappus element in Asteraceae.

0) or 0 ..... L. coronaria

15' Plant glandless, unscented; pappus elements of 2 kinds or 0

16. Fruit >= 2 mm

17. Ray corolla <= 3 mm; pappus awns >= 4, rarely 0 ..... L. maritima

17' Ray corolla > 4 mm; pappus awns 2–3(4) or 0 ..... L. minor

16' Fruit < 1.5 mm

18. Pappus generally of 1 long 

awn 

1. Bristle-like appendage or elongation, generally terminal. 2. Stiff, needle-like pappus element in Asteraceae.

and few to many short scales ..... L. burkei

18' Pappus generally of 3 or more long awns mixed with several short scales, or rarely 0 ..... L. fremontii

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