Tofieldia pusilla (Michx.) Pers.
Nartheciaceae (Liliaceae), Tofieldia family.
Syn. Pl. 1: 399. 1805
Narthecium pusillum Michx., Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 209. 1803
Narthecium pusillum Michx.
Tofieldia palustris auct. non
Huds.
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 5–15(–20) cm high; caespitose; with short, flat evergreen leaves. Roots pallid-brown. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or not developed horizontally or vertically (rhizomes sometimes present, rarely collected: present on CAN 541779). Scales absent. Aerial stems erect; circular or oval in cross-section; glabrous. Leaves in a basal tuft; alternate; simple; existing for a single season or less. Petioles absent. Ligules absent. Blades 10–50(–70) mm long; 1–3 mm wide. Blades spreading; straight; linear; without auricles; flat; veins parallel. Blades adaxial surface glabrous. Blades abaxial surface glabrous. Blade margins glabrous. Leaf apices acuminate, or acute.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems conspicuously taller than the leaves; with leaves (reduced and inconspicuous), or without leaves; glabrous. Leaf or reduced bract closely associated with the base of the inflorescence absent. Inflorescence head-like (sometimes with whorls of flowers in a short cylinder); dense; oblong, or globose or subglobose; 0.5–1.5 cm long; 5–6 mm wide. Pedicels absent (subtended by tiny bracts about 1 mm long, on short pedicels). Involucral bracts on pedicels with bract leaves (short pedicels, tiny bracts less than 0.5 mm long). Flowers per inflorescence 4–12; small, less than 5 mm in diameter or length. Calyx sepals 3; free; 2–3 mm long. Calyx green, or yellow (pale); petaloid; glabrous. Petals free; same length as the calyx; 3; green, or white, or yellow (cream); obovate; unlobed; 2–3 mm long. Stamens 6. Anthers yellow; subglobose; 0.3–0.4 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 3. Ovaries glabrous. Styles absent (or very short with a stubby stigma). Stigmas per style 1. Ovules 15–30. Fruit with calyx persisting; dry; a capsule; ovoid, or obovate; dehiscent. Fruit 1–2 mm long; 1–1.8 mm wide; brown. Styles may persist until dehiscence but are not modified. Seeds 6–18 (rare); 0.5–0.6 mm long; brown; with surfaces smooth.
Chromosome information. 2n = 28–30. Löve and Löve (1956b Iceland, 1981c northern Canada); Jørgensen et al. (1958 Greenland); Sokolovskaya and Strelkova (1960); Sorsa (1963c Finland, 2n = 28); Löve and Ritchie (1966 northern Canada); Taylor and Brockman (1966 western Canada); Hedberg (1967 northern Canada); Zhukova (1967 north eastern Asia); Johnson and Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska ); Laane (1969a Norway); Packer and McPherson (1974 northern Alaska); Krogulevich (1976 northern Siberia); Yurtsev and Zhukova (1978 eastern Chukotka); Engelskjøn (1979 southern Norway); Löve and Löve (1981c); Dalgaard (1989 western Greenland). Several more southern counts. Ploidy levels recorded 2x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: circumpolar (with gaps); Greenland, Canada, United States, Eurasia. Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago moderate. Uncommon. Arctic Islands: Baffin, Victoria, Southampton.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: hummocks (in frost boil meadows), around the margins of ponds, river terraces; imperfectly drained moist areas; acidic (on granite), or calcareous; gravel, silt, till. Habitats: Often reported with Dryas. Locally common in coastal lowlands, turfy areas in the tundra and by brooks growing in wet moss.
Illustrations. • Plant habitat. Plants growing in dry sedge meadow on hillside behind town, Nunavut, Baffin Island, Iqaluit. 23 Aug. 1997, Aiken 97–004, CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence. Plants growing on disturbed gravel. Nunavut, Baffin Island, Iqaluit, July 21, 1982. J.M. Gillett, 18981, CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence in bud. Inflorescence in bud with three yellowish outer tepals that have white margins. Nunavut, Baffin Island, Iqaluit. Aiken and Mallory, 02–002a. CAN. • Inflorescence beginning to flower. Flower buds with outter tepals opened to show inner tepals and stigmas beginning to emerge. Aiken and Mallory, 02–002a. CAN. • Plant habit. Plants growing in dry sedge meadow on hillside behind town, Nunavut, Baffin Island, Iqaluit. 23 Aug. 1997, Aiken 97–004. CAN. • Arctic Island Distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
