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Ipomopsis
tenuituba. Synonyms:
Gilia tenuituba, Gilia aggregata, Ipomopsis aggregata variety macrosiphon. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family) Montane, sub-alpine. Woodlands, meadows, openings.
Summer, fall. I. tenuituba is very similar to I. aggregata and I was not aware of the differences until I received a very helpful email from Dieter Wilken of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Dieter indicates that the two plants differ in several key ways. The following comparison is mostly in Dieter's words:
I.
tenuituba tends to occur at relatively high elevations or at least in
subalpine fir and higher elevation sagebrush communities.
I.
aggregata has a wide range of ecological associations but generally
is not at the upper limits of subalpine forest.
I. tenuituba
has a pale pink to lavender, sometimes very light purple corolla. I. tenuituba has
a more slender tube and is about 20-45 mm long. I. tenuituba has
long, slender calyx lobes. I. tenuituba has
anthers within the tube, with no more than one anther in the throat or
protruding from the throat.
I.
tenuituba generally produces nectar in the early morning or late
afternoon, is sweet-smelling in the evening, and is pollinated
principally by moths, sometimes butterflies.
I.
aggregata generally produces nectar during the day in large
quantities, is odorless, and is pollinated principally by
hummingbirds.
The
two species do hybridize.
This species was first collected by Edward Palmer (1831-1911) in Utah in 1877 and was named Gilia tenuituba by Per Axel Rydberg in 1913. It was renamed Ipomopsis tenuituba in 1956 by Gilia expert Verne Grant. "Tenuituba" is Latin for "thin/slender/stretched tube". |
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Ipomopsis
tenuituba,
short-tubed. Synonyms:
Gilia tenuituba, Gilia aggregata, Ipomopsis aggregata variety macrosiphon. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family) Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings.
Summer, fall. This is the first plant of its kind found in Montezuma County, Colorado -- and probably in all of Colorado and the Four Corners area. I found many of these plants spread along a backcountry road from about 8,300-9,300 feet in elevation. The plants have many of the characteristics of the above I. tenuituba plants, but there are several striking differences: the floral tubes of the plants I found are much shorter, only about half the length of the flowers pictured above; the plants branch frequently from the base producing a bushy growth pattern; and the flower color -- cream and orange -- is very uniform from plant to plant. The short-tubed plants are also quite uniform in their growth characteristics: basal rosettes are withered at flowering, plants are densely covered in glandular hairs and sparse silky hairs, leaves are light green, plants are 12-18 inches tall, and flower dimensions and color are uniform. |
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Ipomopsis
tenuituba, short-tubed. Synonyms:
Gilia tenuituba, Gilia aggregata, Ipomopsis aggregata variety macrosiphon. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family) Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings.
Summer, fall. |
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Ipomopsis
tenuituba, short-tubed. Synonyms:
Gilia tenuituba, Gilia aggregata, Ipomopsis aggregata variety macrosiphon. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family) Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings.
Summer, fall. Filaments and style are buried deep in the floral tube: The five varying length filaments and the anthers extend no more than half way up the floral tube and the style is even shorter. I. aggregata has protruding anthers. |
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Ipomopsis
tenuituba, short-tubed. Synonyms:
Gilia tenuituba, Gilia aggregata, Ipomopsis aggregata variety macrosiphon. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family) Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings.
Summer, fall. The floral tube is just 15-17 millimeters long and about 2 millimeters wide at the base and 4 at the throat. Compare this picture with the close-up three pictures above: the calyx lobes are the same in shape and the hairiness of both plants is evident. |
