Aruncus

Linnaeus

Opera Var., 259. 1758.

Common names: Goat’s-beard bride’s-feathers barbe-de-bouc
Etymology: Greek arunkos, goat’s beard, alluding to showy fingerlike clusters forming feathery flowers
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 422. Mentioned on page 398, 416.
Revision as of 23:13, 16 December 2019 by FNA>Volume Importer

Herbs, perennial, clump-forming, 5–15(–20) dm, herbage glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, hairs simple, straight to curved, sometimes multicellular or glandular; rhizomatous, rhizomes thick, branching, woody; roots coarse, fibrous. Stems 1–5, erect, stout, simple, sometimes glaucous. Leaves deciduous, cauline, alternate, 2–3-irregularly ternate to odd-pinnate, equivalent to 2–3 pinnate; petiole present, relatively long, base 1/2 sheathing stems; blade broadly ovate, cauline reduced in size and complexity distally, 15–60 cm, thick to thin, leaflets 9–45, long-petiolulate, broadly ovate to narrowly lanceolate, margins flat, [serrate to] doubly serrate, venation pinnate. Inflorescences terminal, 500–2500-flowered, racemes forming panicles; bracts present; bracteoles present hairs simple, glandular. Pedicels present. Flowers unisexual (plants dioecious, rarely polygamous), 3–4 mm diam.; epicalyx bractlets 0; hypanthium shallowly bowl-shaped, 0.5–1 mm, nectary ring inside with simple, glandular hairs; sepals persistent, 5, spreading, triangular, margins entire; petals 5, white, obovate to elliptic, base cuneate; staminate: stamens (15–)20(–30) in 1 series (between calyx and nectar ring), longer than petals; torus minute; pistillate: nectar ring scarcely developed, stamens rudimentary, carpels 3, free, glabrous, styles terminal; ovules 2–4. Fruits follicles, 3(or 4), pedicels recurving, fruits inverted, retrorse, ovate-elongate, 1.5–5 mm, shining, glabrous, dehiscent along whole adaxial suture; hypanthium persistent; sepals persistent, spreading to appressed; styles persistent, forming a beak. Seeds 2–4, elongate, membranous, caudate at both ends, scalariform-reticulate, seed coat loose. x = 7, 9.

Distribution

North America, Eurasia, temperate regions.

Discussion

Species 1.

Lower Taxa

... more about "Aruncus"
T. Lawrence Mellichamp +
Linnaeus +
Goat’s-beard +, bride’s-feathers +  and barbe-de-bouc +
North America +, Eurasia +  and temperate regions. +
Greek arunkos, goat’s beard, alluding to showy fingerlike clusters forming feathery flowers +
Opera Var., +
mellichamp1976a +
Aruncus +
Rosaceae tribe Spiraeeae +