Lepidospartum

(A. Gray) A. Gray

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 19: 50. 1883.

Etymology: Greek lepidos, scale, and sparton, Spanish broom (the plant)
Basionym: Tetradymia sect. Lepidosparton A. Gray Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 207. 1874
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 20. Treatment on page 632. Mentioned on page 540, 542.

Shrubs (treelets), 20–250 cm (juvenile stems and foliage tomentose, later stems and leaves glabrous or pannose to tomentose, sometimes glabrescent). Stems 1–5+, erect (much branched). Leaves cauline; alternate; petiolate or sessile; blades palmately (sometimes obscurely) nerved; the juvenile obovate to spatulate, on flowering stems filiform to acerose or scale-like, margins entire, faces glabrous or tomentose to glabrescent. Heads discoid, in ± paniculiform arrays (or clusters of 3–5). Calyculi 0 (or bractlets intergrading with phyllaries). Involucres obconic to cylindric, 4–8 mm diam. Phyllaries persistent, 8–13 or 12–23+ in 2–4+ series, erect, distinct, mostly ovate to lanceolate, unequal (outer shorter), margins sometimes scarious. Receptacles flat, smooth or foveolate (glabrous or arachnose), epaleate. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 3–17+, bisexual, fertile; corollas pale to bright yellow, tubes longer than campanulate to funnelform throats, lobes 5, recurved, lance-linear; style branches: stigmatic areas ± continuous, apices rounded-truncate. Cypselae ± fusiform, 5–15-nerved, glabrous or ± pilose; pappi persistent, of ca. 150, white or tawny, barbellulate bristles (in 3–4 series). x = 30.

Distribution

sw United States, nw Mexico.

Discussion

Species 3 (3 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Leaf blades (flowering stems) scale-like, 2–3 mm; florets 9–17; cypselae glabrous Lepidospartum squamatum
1 Leaf blades (flowering stems) filiform to acerose, 3–40 mm; florets 3–6; cypselae densely hairy > 2
2 Flowering stems tomentose with glabrous striae subtending leaves, interruptingtomentum; cypselae 5–6.5 mm Lepidospartum latisquamum
2 Flowering stems evenly pannose, not striate, dotted with glandular blisters; cypselae ca. 4 mm Lepidospartum burgessii