Details for Chaptalia Texas Specimens in TEX/LL
by Bob Harms  email-here

Texas Chaptalia with Bimorphic Florets
Although the heads were well preserved, and no florets seemed to have been lost, a careful examination of all visible pistillate florets failed to turn up either a reduced ligule or a long–tubular corolla. The fact that these specimens were from October—November (although separated by great distance and time) – among the latest specimen dates in the collection – does not seem fortuitous.

Travis Co., 22 Nov 1923
Val Verde Co., 9 Oct 2003
Val Verde Co., 24 Nov 1984
C. texana C. carduacea
C. texana C. carduacea
Chaptalia with Trimorphic Florets: Reduced Ligulate or Long–tubular Eligulate
In my initial examination of all Texas Chaptalia specimens the following specimens seemed to be bimorphic, lacking ligulate florets. But upon examination of heads from several populations in N. Hays County, I discovered two types of peripheral florets that I was unaware of: (i) those with an essentially vestigial ligule blade, well below the style branches and (ii) those with long tubular (filiform) eligulate corollas only at the periphery of the head, and distinct from the short tubular corollas of the pistillate within the head. A reexamination of all putative bimorphic specimens revealed that all but two had one of these two reduced floret types and were thus trimorphic.

Real Co., fall 1927
Uvalde Co., 30 April 1928
C. texana C. carduacea
Chaptalia with Trimorphic (Ligulate) Heads

Medina Co., 19 Apr 1926
Real Co., 16 Apr 1957
Val Verde Co., 25 Mar 1995
C. texana C. carduacea
Specimens which do not permit determination of head floret morphology type
  • Bastrop Co., 19 May 1996, W. R. Carr & P. McNeal 15394 (TEX)
  • Brewster Co., 9-Jan-1964, D. S. Correll & H B. Correll 30608 (LL)
  • Terrell Co., 5 Apr 2001, W. R. Carr 19495 (TEX)

    • Plant Resources Center Home Page — Flora of Texas — Chaptalia