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Published In: Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 5: 129. 1836. (1-10 Oct 1836) (Prodr.) Name publication detailView in BotanicusView in Biodiversity Heritage Library
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 8/11/2017)
Acceptance : Accepted
Project Data     (Last Modified On 7/9/2009)
Status: Native

 

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3. Liatris mucronata DC. (narrow-leaved gayfeather)

Pl. 269 i–j; Map 1123

Rootstock a more or less globose corm. Stems 20–90 cm long, glabrous. Basal and adjacent lower stem leaves sessile to short-petiolate, the blades 7–15 cm long, 1–4 mm wide, linear, the narrow, light margins occasionally curled under, the surfaces glabrous, green, with 3(5) main veins, grading toward the stem tip to shorter leaves, these mostly sessile, 1.5–12.0 cm long, linear. Inflorescences elongate spikes, the heads densely spaced (the axis mostly not visible between heads), sessile or nearly so, with 1 basal bract. Heads with 3–6 disc florets, the terminal head sometimes slightly longer than the others. Involucre 7–12 mm long, narrowly cup-shaped to nearly cylindrical, with 4–6 unequal, overlapping series of bracts (the outer series appearing somewhat shorter). Involucral bracts broadly lanceolate to narrowly oblong-obovate, tapered to a sharply pointed, ascending to somewhat spreading tip, mostly with narrow, thin, pale to transparent margins, these sometimes slightly to strongly purplish-tinged, more or less entire but sometimes cobwebby-hairy, the main body appearing flat below the tip. Corollas 9–11 mm long, glabrous or the tube sparsely hairy on the inner surface toward the base. Pappus bristles plumose. Fruits 5.5–7.5 mm long. July–October.

Uncommon in the western portion of the Ozark Division, mostly in the watershed of the White River and its tributaries (Kansas and Missouri south to Texas and possibly Louisiana). Glades and ledges and tops of bluffs, on limestone and dolomite substrates.

The aboveground portions of plants of L. mucronata and L. punctata can be surprisingly difficult to distinguish. In Missouri, where the ranges of the two do not overlap, it has proven easier to separate specimens lacking rootstocks by geography than morphology. The combination L. punctata var. mucronata (DC.) B.L. Turner is available if future research should show that the apparent morphological differences in rootstock are due more to environmental variation than to taxonomy. One qualitative difference between them is that in L. mucronata the leaves are described as green, relatively soft-herbaceous, mostly arched or curved outward, and glabrous, whereas in L. punctata the leaves are said to be relatively thick and leathery, mostly straight or the largest ones only slightly curved outward, and at least some of them hairy along the margins (note that the hairs break off with age, leaving minute, stubby bases).

These plants are part of a polyploid complex that is widespread in the center of the United States and needs more intensive biosystematic study. A recent segregate in this complex from northern Texas and Oklahoma was described as L. aestivalis G.L. Nesom & O’Kennon and differs from typical L. mucronata in its fewer longer involucral bracts, slightly more pronounced leaf venation, and earlier flowering period, among other subtle characters. However, Nesom and O’Kennon (2001) noted that some plants attributed to L. mucronata from northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, and adjacent Kansas may represent an undescribed taxon more closely related to L. aestivalis than to L. mucronata in the strict sense. Further studies of population-level variation and cytology are needed.

 
 


 

 
 
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