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4600m. Da Xue Shan Yunnan. Compact plants at higher altitudes show tendency to 3 leaf veins. |
4300m. Da Xue Shan typical long style and veined leaves. |
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4000m. Da Xue Shan. Leggy long styled plants often grow in shrub as protection. |
Rong Chu. SE Tibet. Probably one of the parents of M x Harleyana (q.v.) which Fred Hunt found. Fred Hunt. |
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Hong Shan 4,000m in Yunnan. Pale yellow flowers and the leaf veining tending towards 3 veined. David Rankin. |
Hong Shan 4,000m. David Rankin. |
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Hong Shan 4,000m Seed capsule to show thick style that is elongated but in some ways intermediate between the flat stigma without a style in M. integrifolia. These two species are clearly very variable. David Rankin. |
Hong Shan 4,000m. Random veining on the leaf but it is clear that this is largely an altitude effect with highest altitude plants with 3 thick wind resistant veins and is not a valid criterion to separate the two species - if indeed they are not a single highly variable taxon as Taylor decided after looking at much herbarium material. David Rankin. |
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Shika Shan, 2009. Typical flower but perhaps showing why a long style protruding from the flower and a downward facing flower have evolved to allow pollination in a wet climate. Perhaps the upward open flowers of M. integrifolia are for drier climates. All the intermediates between the two species being selected by altitude and average rainfall. Hilary Birks. |
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