Corresponding author: Shannon M. Still (
Academic editor: D. Soltis
Two new species of
Still SM (2014) Two new desert Eschscholzia (Papaveraceae) from southwestern North America. PhytoKeys 35: 45–56. doi:
All taxa are herbaceous annuals or perennials with taproots and basal rosettes. The leaves are ternately-dissected 2–many times and range from bright green, dark green to glaucous grey-green. Flowers are bisexual, have two sepals fused into a single cap structure, four petals and many stamens. The sepals fall from the flower upon opening. The flowers are yellow, orange or can be yellow with an orange basipetal spot on each petal. The desert taxa of the genus can be difficult to identify (personal experience) and this resulted in further morphological and molecular examination of
Annual herb, erect or spreading with a basal rosette of leaves from a taproot.
Illustrations of leaves, buds and flowers of
Photographs of
Distribution map showing the range for the two new
(
Desert washes, flats, and slopes in coarse, sandy soil.
The species is named for James André and Tasha La Doux, two desert botanists and friends that helped point to the problems with desert
Joshua Tree poppy.
As this is a new taxon it has yet to be considered for conservation status. Due to the limited range and low number of occurrences, the author suggests the California Native Plant Society consider this taxon for listing as a rare plant.
This new taxon has a darkened area basipetally located on the stamen filaments (
Annual herb, erect or spreading with a basal rosette of leaves from a taproot.
Illustrations of leaves, buds and flowers of
Photographs of
(
Desert washes, flats, and gentle slopes in coarse, sandy soil.
The species is named in honor of Dr. Steven Still, my father and mentor and the reason for which I study plants.
Cryptic desert poppy.
As this is a new taxon it has yet to be considered for conservation status. Due to the range and number of occurrences the author does not suggests this taxon be considered for conservation status.
While the buds of all desert
1 | Basal leaf ultimate lobes long-linear; leaves ternately-dissected 2–3×; flower scapes typically without cauline leaves; seed coats pitted without reticulations |
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1’ | Basal leaf ultimate lobes not long-linear; leaves ternately-dissected 3–7×; flowers typically borne on few-flowered racemes with a cauline leaf at each flower axil; seeds coats reticulate | |
2 | Receptacular rim prominent when in fruit, 0.25–5 mm | |
3 | Basal leaf ultimate lobes with length < 3× width, with acute or rounded tips; leaf blades often deep green with a glaucous patch at the crotch of the leaf dissections; cauline leaf ultimate lobes many (range 5–30) with rounded to acute tips; Petals yellow, often with a basipetal orange spot, or petals orange | |
4 | Petals yellow, often with a basipetal orange spot, or petals orange, or rarely white (Arizona mountains); cotyledons entire; annual; limited to eastern Mojave Desert in California and through Arizona | |
4’ | Petals yellow, often with a basipetal orange spot, or petals orange; cotyledons bifid (2-lobed); annual or perennial; widespread but mostly along highways, railways, and planted areas | |
3’ | Basal leaf ultimate lobes with length 3.5 (2–8)× width, with acute tips; leaf blades bright-green to yellow-green; cauline leaf ultimate lobes 3 (rarely 5–13) with acute tips; petals yellow without basipetal orange spot |
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2’ | Receptacular rim not prominent in fruit, < 0.25 mm | |
4 | Petal < 1 cm long | |
5 | Buds with tip < 25% total bud length; cauline leaves generally with > 5 (rarely < 6) ultimate lobes, ± rounded to acute; 2n=24 or 36 | |
6 | Basal leaf ultimate lobes ± narrow, length ca. 4.5× the width; petals generally less than 5.5 (rarely 2–9) mm long, stamens 6–18, typ. 12; 2n=36 | |
6’ | Basal leaf ultimate lobes widened, length ca. 2.5× the width; petals generally greater than (5–) 9 (–12) mm long; stamens 6–18, typ. 14–16; 2n=24 | |
5’ | Buds with tip > 25% total bud length; cauline leaves generally with ≤ 3 (rarely to 8) ultimate lobes, ± acute to acuminate; 2n=12 |
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4’ | Petals > 1 cm long | |
8 | Bud tip generally > 30% length of bud; leaves bright-green to yellow-green, ultimate lobes ± acute to acuminate; cauline leaf reduced to one-few ultimate lobes | |
9 | Receptacle 1–2 mm wide, obconic to funnel-shaped |
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9’ | Receptacle 1.5–5 mm wide, widely-obconic to bell-shaped, often flaring at the end of the receptacle |
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8’ | Bud tip generally < 20% length of bud; leaves more glaucous to grey-green, ultimate lobes ± round to acute; terminal cauline leaf typically with 5+ ultimate lobes | |
10 | Basal leaves generally with 35–40 (rarely 26–60) ultimate lobes, and ultimate lobes ± widened appearance, length of ultimate lobes less than 2× width, cuneiform; (12–) 18-20 (–28) stamens often with anthocyanin spot at basipetal end of filaments fused at the base; plants of El Paso and Rand Mountains in Kern Co., California | |
10’ | Basal leaves generally with 45–70 (rarely 26–55) ultimate lobes, length of ultimate lobes more than 2× width; stamens (16–) 22-24 (–32), with anthocyanin spot at basipetal end of filaments fused at the base; plants of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in and around Joshua Tree National Park |
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I would like to thank James André, Tasha La Doux, Dan Potter, Steven Still, and the curatorial staff at the herbaria DAV, RSA, ND-G, SD, DES, ASU and UC for their inspiration and help with my research. I would also like to thank a few anonymous reviewers who helped edit the manuscript, species descriptions, and taxonomic key.