natural history and evolution of species complexes
What's new in the key? Well, I added some information on how to identify P. dentata, P. aphylla, and P. crypta, species that are currently missing from The Jepson manual: vascular plants of California (2nd edition) treatment by Gary D. Wallace & Erich Haber. Check it out! Genus Pyrola (Ericaceae) Habit: Perennial subshrub, evergreen, rhizomed. …
On July 20, 2013 I drove to an area of the Siskiyou Mts. outside the town of Orleans from Los Angeles-- the 11 hours is okay if I can leave before dawn and arrive in the afternoon. Arriving a few hours before the sun went down, there was some time to collect from a population …
Black Lassic is one peak among the Lassics of Trinity County and is characterized by outcrops of serpentine, mudstone, and sandstone surrounded by coniferous forest. Pyrola crypta is a species that grows predominantly under Pseudotsuga in this area. It is very similar in appearance to P. picta but can be distinguished by its unusually long sepals …
A bumble bee buzzes the inflorescences of a Pyrola picta specimen I collected from an area near the Marble Mountain wilderness in Siskiyou County. Oddly, this is the only specimen I've seen thus far with highly reduced female function. You can see gynoecial structures appear to be absent or highly reduced in the flowers of …
Jolles Lab 