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 Leaves Harvard University Herbaria: Vascular Plants of North America, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant Harvard University Herbaria: Vascular Plants of North America, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
Plants highly variable in leaf shape and hairiness, some leaves are widest at mid-point and then gradually taper to stem; others are more abruptly shortened at the base above the stem.
Identification notes: Stems erect; basal leaves simple, 1 to 11, bases often squared off, sometimes taper to a tip; stems leafy; flower petals 5, bright yellow, 3 lower brownish-purple veined, upper 2 can be brownish, styles bearded (hairy); fruit a round capsule.
Height:
To 7 inches
Habitat Description: Sagebrush flats, prairie grasslands, open forests, juniper woodlands.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 1300 - 9200 feet
Color:
Yellow, brownish-purple, brownish
Shape:
Irregular not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
May - Jul
Description:
1 to few flowers from base, stalks 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, spur short; 5 petals, upper ones brownish on the back, lower 3 lined with brownish-purple on the inside, side pair hairy; style head hairy, lobed to rounded.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Stems bending to erect; leaf blades hairless to sparsely hairy, oval to lance-like, more or less straight or almost square at base, 3/4 to 2 inches long, smooth to shallowly blunt-toothed.
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Sphere-shaped, 1/4 inch, hairless or soft hairs.
Seed Notes: Tan, 1/16 inch, with a fleshy, oil-rich structure attached to seeds (elaiosome) that attracts ants to disperse the seeds.
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