Triphysaria versicolor

Fischer & C. A. Meyer

Index Seminum (St. Petersburg) 2: 52. 1836.

Common names: Yellow-beak or smooth owl's-clover
Endemic
Synonyms: Orthocarpus erianthus var. versicolor (Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Jepson O. versicolor (Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Greene
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 687. Mentioned on page 685.

Stems simple or with 1–20 ascending branches, 5–60(–80) cm, glabrous proximally, sparsely pubescent distally. Leaves glabrous or sparsely pubescent; proximal cauline: blade linear, 3–30(–80) mm; cauline: blade ± ovate or obovate, 15–90 mm, base sessile, margins pinnatifid, rarely bipinnatifid, lateral lobes 3–9. Spikelike racemes interrupted, dense distally, 2–30 cm; peduncle absent; bracts pinnatifid, ± ovate or obovate, 6–22 mm, lateral lobes 2–7. Pedicels 1–2 mm, glabrous. Flowers: calyx 5–11 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, tube 4–8 mm, lobes narrowly triangular, 1.5–5 × 1–2 mm; corolla yellow, rarely yellow and white, or white, fading to rose pink, 12–25(–27) mm, densely short-hairy, beak ± yellow, white, or rose pink, not hooked, abaxial lobes spreading, 2–4 mm, throat abruptly indented, forming a fold under abaxial corolla lip, adaxial lobes projecting; stamens included, pollen sac yellow, 1.7–3 mm, glabrous, dehiscing longitudinally; style 10–20 mm, glabrous; stigma capitate. Capsules 6–9(–10) × 3.5–5 mm, glabrous. Seeds 15–60, ovoid, 0.6–1 mm.

Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Corollas white, fading to rose pink, beaks white or rose pink. Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor
1 Corollas yellow, rarely yellow with white, beaks yellow or white. Triphysaria versicolor subsp. faucibarbata