Special Pages #7

Lagophylla ramosissima ssp. ramosissima
Branched hareleaf


I've been trying to figure out how this flower works and what its structure is. The process of
researching this species, dissecting samples, and taking these pictures has helped me to understand it. Most of these pictures except as otherwise noted were taken in October, so its flowering season is really over, and therefore what these pictures show is obviously not its prime blooming condition. I plan to go back and re-photograph it next year to get better pictures. The following series of pictures hopefully helps to illustrate the plant's parts. The flowering head is surrounded and subtend-
ed by a number of hirsute bract-like leaves inside which are the five ray flowers enfolded within the phyllaries, as shown in the first picture. Inside the ray flowers is a ring of chaff scales which enclose the six disk flowers. All but one of these pictures were taken at the Santa Rosa Plateau or of sam-
ples from there, and all except #s 15 and 18 were taken in October 2005.


#1




#2

This picture shows a more close-up view of the glandular secretions on the bract-like leaves..




#3

Here you see the flowering head with the upper bract-like leaves spread open and the phyllaries still
erect.




#4

This picture is of the head after the subtending bract-like leaves have been removed, so what you
see are the outsides of the phyllaries. Most parts of this plants are densely hairy, which might make
some people think when they hear the name "hareleaf," that it refers to "hair" and is really spelled
"hairleaf," but actually the name is derived from the Greek lagos for "hare" and phyllon for "leaf," in
reference to the hairiness of a rabbit or hare.




#5

I was confused at first about the difference between the subtending bract-like leaves and the
phyllaries. In fact, I originally thought the leaves were the phyllaries, because as the following two
pictures show, they are very similar, especially from the outside. Below is an upper leaf on the left
and a phyllary on the right, this view of the outer surface. The following picture (#6) shows the
inner surface of the same parts.



#6

A developed seed is inside a little pouch formed by the enfolding edges of the phyllary (R).



#7

This picture shows the flower beginning to be opened up, showing what is left of the ray ligules
arising as they do from the upper portion of the inside of the phyllaries. The ray ovaries are
actually enclosed inside these enfolding phyllaries. At the time I took these pictures in October,
the flowering season was about over.



#8

This picture shows the chaff scales that surround the disk flowers in a ring inside the ray flowers. The structure at the apex is the ray ligules that have at least partly fused together.



#9

A close-up of the fused ligules that have become disattached from the ray-achenes.



#10

Another picture of the chaff scales and one of the phyllaries with its enclosed ray ovary.



#11

A good picture showing the phyllary and how it folds around and encloses the ray-achene, and
beside it a mature seed (black).



#12

Another picture of the enfolding phyllary and both top and bottom views of a seed.



#13

The unopened disk flowers (there are six) surrounded by the chaff scales. I don't understand how there could be unopened disk flowers at this point, but all I can assume is that for some reason these failed to develop.




#14

One of the now mostly shrivelled ligules showing the shape of the tip. I have a hard time reconciling
this with the shape of the ray ligule on the plant I photographed in the Santa Monicas earlier in the
year which is shown in the next picture after this one. However it is quite common for the very first flowers of the season to be quite dissimilar to those more mature ones from later on.




#15

Pictures of the flowering inflorescence.

 



#16

A picture of what is often left on the plant after all other parts fall off. These are the dried phyllaries with their developed fruits. Sorry it's a bit out of focus.



#17

The whole plant in all its branching glory. At this point of the season, most of the leaves have already
fallen off so the stems are almost entirely bare.




#18

Close-up taken 8/20/05. In this picture you can see the fused ligules protruding from the flowering
heads. When I saw these originally, I couldn't figure out what those were. This also clearly shows
the subtending bract-like leaves around each flowering head.




#19
Here you have what's left of a shrivelled-up disk flower. Compare to illustration that follows.




#20
Illustration of plant parts from Abrams, Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States, Vol. IV, page 157.
Lower left is a disk corolla, next to it a branching stem, then a back view of a phyllary with the
3-lobed ligule peeping out behind, next is the seed, then a nice illustration of the plant. Compare
the leaves with the leaves in picture #18.


Genus and species descriptions

From Munz A Flora of Southern California

Genus: Annuals, with basal lvs. serrate-dentate to subentire, cauline lvs. entire, readily caducous. Invol. turbinate to hemispheric, the phyllaries completely enfolding the obcompressed ray-aks. and caducous with them. Fls. yellow, the heads opening toward evening and closing in the morning. Receptacle penicillate-pubescent centrally, its bracts in a single row between ray and disk, slightly united. Ray-fls. 5, fertile. Disk-fls. 6, sterile. Pappus none.

Species: Stiffly erect, mostly 2-10 dm high, branched above, sometimes from the base, sometimes simple; herbage grayish or dull green, densely white-hirtellous or white-sericeous, the prominent yellow stipitate glands confined to upper heads and lvs; lvs linear-oblanceolate to spatulate, withering before anthesis; heads short-peduncled or subsessile, racemosely disposed along branchlets and in small clusters at their ends; invol. 4.4 - 6.7 mm high, the phyllaries villous-ciliate; ray-aks. 2.5 - 4 mm long.

From Jepson Manual

Genus: Ann 1-15 dm, green to canescent, gen self-sterile. LVS alternate (or lower opposite), linear to oblanceolate, entire to toothed; lower soon deciduous; upper ± bract-like. INFL spike- to panicle-like; heads radiate, opening in evening, gen closing by ± midday, ± short-peduncled; phyllaries fully folded around ray ovaries, falling with frs, tips flat, erect or spreading; receptacle flat, short-hairy; chaff scale 5 in ring between ray and disk fls, weakly fused; RAY FLS 5; ligule 3-
lobed, yellow, red-veined, often aging purplish. DISK FLS 6, staminate, corolla yellow; anthers black, tips widely triangular; ovaries slender, style branches undivided. FR: pappus 0; ray-achenes compressed front-to-back.

Species: STS 0-many-branched, soft-hairy, often becoming glabrous. LVS: lower 3-12 cm, toothed, early deciduous; middle entire, deciduous, with axillary leaf clusters; upper bract-like, densely canescent to silvery-hairy, long-ciliate, uppermost glandular. INFL head- to panicle-like, ± glandular; heads gen closing early morning; involucre obconic; phyllaries 4.4 - 7.5 mm, lanceolate, short-hairy, densely long-ciliate, tip < body. RAY FLS: ligules 3 - 5.5 mm, pale yellow. DISK FLS: corollas 3.5 - 4 mm. FR 2.5 - 4 mm, narrowly obovate, dull, ± black; midvein obscure.

Subspecies: STS gen slender; branches often many, long, slender, gen sparsely leafy. INFL: heads solitary or few per cluster.