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Chorizanthe membranacea

(Clustered Spineflower)

Overview

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Vulnerable

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Clustered Spineflower, Pink Spineflower

Description

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Family Polygonaceae

Herbs, shrubs , or small trees , sometimes monoecious or dioecious. Stems erect , prostrate , twining , or scandent , often with swollen nodes, striate , grooved , or prickly. Leaves simple , alternate, rarely opposite or whorled , petiolate or subsessile ; stipules often united to a sheath (ocrea) . Inflorescence terminal or axillary , spicate , racemose, paniculate , or capitate. Pedicel occasionally articulate . Flowers small, actinomorphic , bisexual , rarely unisexual . Perianth 3-6-merous, in 1 or 2 series, herbaceous, often enlarged in fruit or inner tepals enlarged, with wings , tubercles , or spines. Stamens usually (3-) 6-9, rarely more; filaments free or united at base ; anthers 2-loculed, opening lengthwise; disk annular (often lobed ) . Ovary superior, 1-loculed; styles 2 or 3, rarely 4, free or connate at lower part. Fruit a trigonous , biconvex , or biconcave achene; seed with straight or curved embryo and copious endosperm.

About 50 genera and 1120 species: worldwide, but primarily N temperate with a few species in tropical regions ; 13 genera (two endemic) and 238 species (65 endemic) in China.[1]

Genus Chorizanthe

Herbs [or subshrubs ], annual [or perennial ]; taproot slender to stout. Stems prostrate or decumbent to erect , pubescent ; aerial flowering stems arising [at nodes of caudex branches, at distal nodes of aerial stems or] directly from the root , decumbent to erect, slender [to stout and solid, not disarticulating in ringlike segments], sometimes disarticulating at each node. Leaves persistent or quickly deciduous, basal and rosulate or basal and cauline, alternate; petiole present; blade linear to oblanceolate or spatulate , entire apically. Inflorescences terminal , cymose or capitate, uniparous due to suppression of secondaries; branches open and spreading or erect, typically trichotomously branched at proximal node, otherwise dichotomous, sometimes brittle and disarticulating into segments, round , pubescent [or rarely glabrous ]; bracts mostly 2, opposite, sometimes numerous , whorled , distinct , leaflike to subulate or linear, occasionally awn-tipped, thinly pubescent (sometimes appressed ), hirsute , villous , strigose , or tomentose , rarely woolly-floccose or minutely glandular . Peduncles absent. Involucres 1-6+ per node, 3-6-ribbed, tubular , cylindric to urceolate or turbinate to campanulate ; teeth 3, 5, or 6, awn-tipped. Flowers bisexual , 1(-2) per involucre, pedicellate ; perianth white to yellow or pink to rose-pink, red, maroon or purple, cylindric, funnelform , or campanulate when open, cylindric when closed , glabrous or pubescent abaxially; tepals (5-) 6, connate 3 their length , monomorphic or dimorphic , entire, emarginate , or lobed to laciniate apically; stamens 3, 6, or 9, or variously 3-9; filaments distinct or connate into staminal tube , sometimes adnate to floral tube , glabrous or pubescent; anthers maroon to red or cream to white or yellow, oval to oblong ; styles erect to spreading. Achenes included , light brown to dark brown or black, not winged , lenticular , globose-lenticular, or 3-gonous, glabrous. Seeds: embryo straight or curved . x = 10.

Species 50: North America (including Mexico), South America.

Like Eriogonum, Chorizanthe is the basal element in its own subtribe , Chorizanthineae Reveal. Nonetheless, recent molecular data indicate that Chorizanthe is embedded within Eriogonum (A. S. Lamb Frye, pers. comm. ), meaning that either all species of the Chorizanthineae should be moved to Eriogonum, or Eriogonum should be fragmented into several genera. Obviously, therefore, all of the segregate genera that follow could be merged into Chorizanthe, and this was common practice until 1989. A key factor still unresolved is the relationship between the perennial species of Chorizanthe (including the type of the genus) and Eriogonum. The traditional assumption is that Eriogonum and Chorizanthe represent independent lines of evolution from a basal, diploid (n = 10) ancestor that is now extinct . A corollary to this assumption is that this divergence occurred during the Eocene and the perennial spineflowers were successfully introduced into southern South America, whereas the wild buckwheats€”lacking a ready means for long-distance dispersal€”failed to make the trip . Thus, it is possible that the perennial members of Chorizanthe represent a genus distinct from the annuals treated here (33 of the 41 annuals occur in the flora area, the rest are in Mexico or in South America). In that case, our annual members (if not submerged into Eriogonum) would be called Acanthogonum Torrey.

The segregate genera allied to Chorizanthe, like those allied to Eriogonum, differ primarily in their involucres. Aristocapsa and Dodecahema, with haploid chromosome numbers of 14 and 17, respectively, are difficult to associate with any extant member of Chorizanthe (mainly n = 19, 20, 38, 40). Centrostegia, Lastarriaea, Mucronea, and Systenotheca all appear much more akin to Chorizanthe. A point of origin can be suggested only for Lastarriaea, namely Chorizanthe interposita Goodman of central Baja California, Mexico. C. D. Hardham (1989) reported a range of gametic numbers from single individuals. Until somatic counts are made, the primary chromosome numbers of some species remain uncertain.

J. L. Reveal and C. B . Hardham (1989b) divided the annual species of Chorizanthe genus into three subgenera : subg. Amphietes (39 species), and subg. Eriogonella and subg. Quintaria (one species each). The first is divided into four sections (Ptelosepala, Acanthogonum, Fragile, and Clastoscapa Reveal & Hardham), all but the last of which are found in our region. Some sections were divided into subsections, which are not treated here.

The approximately nine perennial species of subg. Chorizanthe occur only in arid regions of Chile and Argentina.[2]

Physical Description

Species Chorizanthe membranacea

Plants 1-6(-10) × 0.5-3(-5) dm, woolly-floccose. Leaves basal and cauline; petiole 0.1-0.5(-0.8) cm; blade linear to narrowly oblance-olate, (1-) 1.5-5 × 0.1-0.3 cm, thinly to densely floccose adaxially, densely tomentose abaxially. Inflorescences strict , white to greenish, open; bracts usually 2, opposite, rarely in whorls of 3-5, short-petiolate, acerose , similar to proximal leaf blades only reduced, 0.3-3 cm × 1-3 mm, awns straight, 0.5-1 mm. Involucres usually congested in small terminal clusters of 1-3 at node of dichotomies, urceolate , ventricose basally, 3-angled, 6-ribbed, 3-4 mm, not corrugate, with conspicuous , white margins extending across sinuses, tomentose to floccose or glabrate with age, greenish to brownish; teeth 6; awns uncinate , 0.7-1.5 mm. Flowers 1(-2), slightly exserted; perianth white to rose, subcylindric , (1.5-) 2.5-3 mm, densely pubescent abaxially; tepals connate 2/ 3 their length , slightly dimorphic , entire and rounded apically, those of outer whorl obovate, those of inner whorl spatulate; stamens slightly exserted; filaments 1.5-2.5 mm, glabrous ; anthers pink to red, oval , 0.2-0.3 mm. Achenes 2.5-3 mm. 2n = 38, 40, (42), 80, 82, 84. [source]

Chorizanthe membranacea has long been considered an isolated element among the spineflowers. The strict, upright habit, numerous basal and cauline leaves, and broad, continuous, membranous margins of the involucre all reflect that isolation . Pink spineflower is widespread and often locally common in the Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and California and on the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada southward to the Transverse Ranges and the Tehachapi Mountains of Ventura and Kern counties, California. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May, June, July.

Habitat

Sandy to gravelly or rocky flats and slopes , mixed grassland and chaparral communities, oak-pine woodlands; 40-1400(-1600) m (Ref. 53210).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,147 meters (0 to 7,044 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Eriogonella membranacea (Benth.) Goodman • Eriogonella membranacea (Bentham) Goodman

Notes

Publishing author : Benth. Publication : Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 419 1836

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Chorizanthe

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 54 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. angustifolia (Narrowleaf Spine-Flower) · C. biloba (Two-Lobe Spineflower) · C. biloba var. biloba (Twolobe Spineflower) · C. biloba var. immemora (San Benito Spineflower) · C. blakleyi (Blakey's Spine-Flower) · C. brevicornu (Brittle Spineflower) · C. brevicornu var. brevicornu (Brittle Spineflower) · C. brevicornu var. spathulata (Brittle Spineflower) · C. breweri (Brewer's Chorizanthe) · C. clevelandii (Cleveland's Spineflower) · C. corrugata (Wrinkled Chorizanthe) · C. cuspidata (San Francisco Spineflower) · C. cuspidata var. cuspidata (San Francisco Bay Spineflower) · C. cuspidata var. villosa (Coast Spineflower) · C. diffusa (Diffuse Spineflower) · C. douglasii (Douglas Spineflower) · C. douglasii var. albeus (Douglas´s Spineflower) · C. fimbriata (Fringed Spineflower) · C. fimbriata var. fimbriata (Fringed Spineflower) · C. fimbriata var. laciniata (Fringed Spineflower) · C. howellii (Howell Chorizanthe) · C. leptotheca (Peninsular Spineflower) · C. membranacea (Clustered Spineflower) · C. obovata (Spoon-Sepal Spineflower) · C. orcuttiana (Orcutt's Spineflower) · C. palmeri (Palmer's Spineflower) · C. parryi (Orcutt Spine-Flower) · C. parryi parryi var. parryi (San Bernardino Spineflower) · C. parryi var. fernandina (San Fernando Valley Chorizanthe) · C. parryi var. parryi (San Bernardino Spineflower) · C. polygonoides (Knotweed Spineflower) · C. polygonoides longispina (Knotweed Spineflower) · C. polygonoides var. longispina (Long-Awned Spineflower) · C. polygonoides var. polygonoides (Knotweed Spineflower) · C. procumbens (Prostrate Spineflower) · C. pungens (Monterey Spineflower) · C. pungens var. hartwegiana (Ben Lomond Spineflower) · C. pungens var. pungens (Monterey Spineflower) · C. rectispina (One-Awned Chorizanthe) · C. rigida (Devil's Spineflower) · C. robusta (Robust Spineflower) · C. robusta var. hartwegii (Robust Spineflower) · C. robusta var. robusta (Robust Spineflower) · C. spinosa (Mojave Spineflower) · C. staticoides (Statice Spineflower) · C. stellulata (Starlet Spineflower) · C. uniaristata (One-Awn Spineflower) · C. valida (Sonoma Spineflower) · C. ventricosa (Priest Valley Spineflower) · C. watsonii (Five-Tooth Spineflower) · C. wheeleri (Santa Barbara Spineflower) · C. xanti (Pinyon Spineflower) · C. xanti var. leucotheca (Riverside Spineflower) · C. xanti var. xanti (Riverside Spineflower)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 18, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Anjen Li, Bojian Bao, Alisa E. Grabovskaya-Borodina, Suk-pyo Hong, John McNeill, Sergei L. Mosyakin, Hideaki Ohba & Chong-wook Park "Polygonaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 277. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. James L. Reveal "Chorizanthe". in Flora of North America Vol. 5. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 575.410 meters (1,887.828 feet), Standard Deviation = 675.170 based on 88 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012