Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Large shrubs 20–40 dm tall.

Stems: Internodes crowded.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades ovate to cordate, 4–7 cm long, (1.5–)2.5–4.5 cm wide. Surfaces green and moderately hirsute, sometimes more densely so along veins, the hairs spreading to somewhat appressed; blades membranous. Margins sharply serrate with 8–14 teeth on each side. Usually 5–8-veined. Petioles 1–3 cm long. Stipules subulate, 12–14 mm long; dried stipules persistent on branches, hirsute.

Flowers: Flowers usually 1–4 in short, axillary cymes, pedicels 1.1–2 cm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Calyx of 5 sepals, lanceolate, 12–16 mm long, hirsute, the hairs usually appressed, apex with an awn ca. 2 mm long, distinct or sometimes connate at base, rarely forming a tube. Corolla of 5 petals, dull magenta, narrowly obovate, upper 3 erect, lower ones reflexed, causing the corolla to appear curved and thus zygomorphic, 20–25 mm long, distinct, nectary glands alternate with the petals. Stamens (5)10; staminal filaments 18–20 mm long, pubescent on the dilated bases, glands minute; ; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or nearly so, 5-celled, carpels connate around a central column to form a compound ovary with as many cells, fertile portion a lobed ring at base of stylar column, placentation axile; ovules 2 per cell, anatropous to campylotropous, usually pendulous; styles 3–5, ca. 20 mm long at anthesis, slender and beak-like, sometimes narrowed below apex, elongating to 35–40 mm long in fruit, the apical, filiform beak 10 mm long at anthesis, ca. 15 mm long in fruit, branches filiform, reflexed; stigmas slender and dry, rarely capitate.

Fruit: Septicidal and elastically dehiscent capsules separating into as many segments as carpels; a portion of the style splitting off from remainder of stylar column and forming an awn that recurves upward from the persistent central column; usually remaining attached to apex; sometimes the awn also becomes spirally coiled; awn usually hygroscopic; carpel bodies ca. 3–3.5 mm long; sparsely hirsute. Seeds 1 per cell; dark purple; narrowly obovoid; ca. 2.5 mm long; the surface conspicuously reticulate; reticulations elongate; endosperm usually scanty or absent; rarely copious and oily.

Ploidy: 2n = ca. 50*

Habitat: Occurring primarily in gulches in subalpine shrubland.

Elevation Range: 1,520–2,150 m.