Odd Phacelia minor / parryi traits
I've been noticing some interesting corolla traits in P. minor and P. parryi observations that indicate hybridization, or at least some variations among populations. Based on species descriptions, "pure" P. minor should be bell shaped where the tube is slightly constricted at the throat, and does not have white markings; and "pure" P. parryi is a shallow bowl (no throat present), with obviously visible white spots at base of lobes.
Looking at some of my odd minor/parryi observations, there seems to be some pretty consistently shared traits: shorter tube that lacks slight constriction below throat, and white spots are generally less defined or appear included into the throat, some even as elongated streaks. All of these observations seem to be in areas where minor/parryi range overlaps. Tom Chester has a writeup on these trends as well. https://tchester.org/plants/analysis/phacelia/minor_with_spots.html
Below is a list of my observations that potentially fit the hybrid profile ( I have also noticed the trend in other users uploads, not listed here):
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105516328
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78136943
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153776890
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150715462
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51333630
"True" P. minor:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153725068
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153531623
"True" P. parryi:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/111748776
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25428780
Comments
Being iNat power users, I suspect you all may have come across individuals of minor/parryi that could fall into the hybrid category. I'm curious if you have any more insight on the matter, or if you know of any work being done on categorizing these.
@ronvanderhoff @arboretum_amy @silversea_starsong
I had come across Tom Chester's write-up about it before; probably I saw a disagreement about it on an observation. Certainly it is interesting.
I have been checking them for a while after a comment long ago about suspected hybrids, but personally I have not found any like this to date. Their existence is interesting.
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