Asimina longifolia var. spatulata
Brittonia 12: 266, fig. 9a-b. 1960.
Primary shoots ± lax, usually much arched to almost decumbent, glabrous or sparsely short-hairy when young. Leaf blade oblong-linear, oblong, or commonly oblanceolate or spatulate, margins slightly revolute, glabrous, apex obtuse, rounded or notched, rarely broadly acute, broadest distally. Flowers: outer petals abaxially glabrous or sparsely short-hairy when young; inner petals pink or red.
Phenology: Flowering spring–early summer(-fall).
Habitat: Sands or sandy peats or loams of rises in pine savanna, pine flatwoods, or sandhills, sandy fields, and pastures
Elevation: 0-100 m
Distribution
Ala., Fla., Ga.
Discussion
Asimina longifolia var. spatulata flowers as late as fall in response to disturbance. Because A. longifolia var. spatulata much resembles the hybrids between A. longifolia var. longifolia and A. pygmaea, it is not unlikely that it originated as such a hybrid and has extended west and north from the early swarms, these presumably along the Suwannee-Okefenokee drainage.
Selected References
None.