Key to Thermopsis

View taxon page for Thermopsis

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

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

1. Leaflets, 

pedicels 

Stalk of an individual flower in an inflorescence, or the corresponding structure in fruit.

, fruits glabrous to sparsely long-soft-hairy; flower 1–2 per 

node 

Position on a stem from which one or more structures (especially leaves, buds, branches, or flowers) arise.

..... T. gracilis

1' Leaflets, pedicels, fruits long-soft-hairy; flowers generally 2–5 per node

2. Plant 8–25 dm; stem stout, 

erect 

Upright; vertically oriented.

3. Fruit 

ascending 

Curving or angling upward from base, or about 30-60 degrees less than vertical or away from axis of attachment.

, straight; lower pedicels 2–4 mm; 

leaflet 

A leaf-like unit of a compound leaf; distinguished from a leaf by the absence in its axil of a bud, branch, thorn, or flower; lacking lateral, basal appendages (stipules); either simple (leaf 1-compound, with primary leaflets) or compound (leaf 2-compound, with primary and secondary leaflets; 3-compound, with primary, secondary, and tertiary leaflets, etc).

 lateral veins 12–16; WTR (Santa Ynez Mtns) ..... T. macrophylla

3' Fruit 

spreading 

Oriented more or less perpendicularly to the axis of attachment; often, more or less horizontal.

, curved; lower pedicels 4–8 mm; leaflet lateral veins 18–24; KR, NCoRO ..... T. robusta

2' Plant 3–8 dm; stem slender, ascending to erect ..... T. californica

4. Stipules 

ovate 

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

to widely ovate; inflorescence bracts < 15 mm wide; leaflet hairs not 

appressed 

Parallel or nearly parallel to and often in contact with surface of origin; used to describe the disposition of hairs, leaves, pedicels, etc.

; NCo, NCoR, CW ..... var. californica

4' Stipules 

lanceolate 

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

to ovate; inflorescence bracts < 6 mm wide; leaflet hairs appressed; CaR, WTR, s PR (San Diego Co.), MP

5. Leaflet silvery, hairs straight; CaR, WTR, MP ..... var. argentata

5' Leaflet velvety, hairs ± wavy; s PR (San Diego Co.) ..... var. semota

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