Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
blakrab

Tall Stems With Trident Leaves?

blakrab Centex
last year
last modified: last year

This ~1' tall wildflower with ~1.5" narrow, trident leaves was found growing in a park. What is it?



These leaves sort of resemble those of Callirhoe involucrata, except that wildflower is more of a sprawling groundcover, not really with upright stems?

Comments (12)

  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    No, I don't think that area gets mowed. However, there might sometimes be ~3' tall grass that grows there, so I wonder if that could stimulate whatever else grows there to grow taller and leggier than normal?

    I do remember seeing some purple Winecups of some variety somewhere in that very general area many years ago...so that probably rules out the White Poppymallow (Callirhoe involucrata var. lineariloba). Which I've never seen anywhere before.

    Which would then narrow it down to Callirhoe leiocarpa or involucrata, if it is a Winecup? Callirhoe leiocarpa actually seems like a fairly good fit, if it is a Winecup! Whereas I don't think Callirhoe involucrata ever even gets like ~1.5' tall or more, even if got really leggy? Only thing that still seems a bit questionable there to me is that its leaves seems more separate vs more clearly just lobes of the same leaves in Callirhoe leiocarpa. Supposedly, the wild varieties do tend to have narrower leaves though, so that part would fit?

    So, I guess Callirhoe leiocarpa is the best guess for now, unless it's just some other genus altogether?

  • Jay 6a Chicago
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I grow involucrata and bushii, but I'm not familiar with leiocarpa. I think all the leaves on my involucrata are palmate.

    blakrab Centex thanked Jay 6a Chicago
  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    last year

    ^ Do you happen to know if any of these species can crossbreed?


    I may want to plant some Callirhoe leiocarpa and involucrata...but if they can possibly crossbreed, then I would be sure not to plant them at the same site? Since I would want to keep each one unhybridized in order to harvest same species seeds from them in the future.

  • Jay 6a Chicago
    last year

    I don't think purple wine poppies hybridize between species, because there are 6 species in Texas and no recorded hybrids,, but Im guessing? Verbena species on the other hand are sleazy and will cross with each other. I'm not seeing the typical palmate leaves that involucrata and leiocarpa both have, and these plants are looking more like Artemisia ludoviciana to me now. They aren't very silvery though. I think the leaves would smell aromatic. I could be way off?🤷🤔

    blakrab Centex thanked Jay 6a Chicago
  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    last year

    Right! That's the main thing that bothers me...the leaves do look similarly shaped and colored...buutttt just don't really look palmate to me.


    OTOH, they are nowhere near silvery enough (or the right shape) to be Artemisia ludoviciana, either.


    Sooo, I'm still not completely sure what they are?


    And true, if there doesn't seem to be recorded hybrids, then I guess they are not likely to?

  • Jay 6a Chicago
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Artemisia ludoviciana can be more on the green side, like yours. Your's look like their leaves might be hairy too. It's still a possibilty? It's leaves are variable and can be entire or deeply lobed. The habit seems to fit. The leaves should be aromatic. It should have an alternate leaf arrangment. I can't say for sure what leaf arrangement these have?

    blakrab Centex thanked Jay 6a Chicago
  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    OK, so I did some backtracking and found some archival photos of Winecups in bloom in this general area.


    There's a close-up of a leaf here, with very thin lobes. So, that in combination with its fringed flower petals, makes me think this mght be Callirhoe digitata (Fringed Poppymallow)? But which then doesn't seem to match my plant in the OP.

    And just for reference, here's 2 more Callirhoe sp. in another city...

    This one has leaves that look more separate than palmate (more like in the OP).

    Although this one has more palmate leaves.

    And this is some Callirhoe involucrata I recently bought...grown in the wild in another city in central Texas. Which has much fleshier, definitely palmate leaves.

    But, none of these various leaves look like the OP...which probably then rules out Callirhoe for it. So hmm, maybe it is Artemisia ludoviciana (Prairie Sage) then?


    And damn, now I'm so confused which Callirhoe species each one of these is?

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    last year

    you need to go on a new walkabout.. and get some more pix for new posts ... this forum has been lagging ... and you are the usual motivator ... pleeeeeaaassseee ..lol

    blakrab Centex thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    last year

    Already done...here ya go! It's feeding time! :D

  • Jay 6a Chicago
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I think you can check on the original plant and verify what leaf arrangement it has, and see if the leaves and stem are tomentose. The leaf arrangement looks alternate in the top view, but it looks like the stem leaves are alternate, but also opposite at a couple nodes. And check for fragrance. In the newly added pictures, the 1st is most likely C. pedata, (if it's the same Callirhoe species you were asking about in the link below.) The second photo doesn't match the leaves of any Callirhoe I'm familiar with. They look more like Liatris or something. I think those leaves were shown in the link below. In that post it does look like a stem with a Callihoe flower is emerging from those unusual leaves? I can't make any sense of that, and it's too late to go back and take more pics. The 3rd new photo looks like Callirhoe leiocarpa. It has single unlobed leaves, and trifoliate and palmate entire leaves, and palmate lobed leaves. I don't know why the flower is so purple-purple, instead of the more common purple-pink, burgandy?


    The bottom pic looks like Callirhoe involucrata.

    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4608968/purple-callirhoe

    blakrab Centex thanked Jay 6a Chicago
  • blakrab Centex
    Original Author
    7 months ago

    OK, so I went back on 6/13 and got a few more pics. Unfortunately, they weren't flowering then, but you can at least see now that the leaves are clearly alternating with silvery undersides..