Jepson Interchange (more information)
Print edition is available from the University of California Press
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This page is based on the 1993 Jepson Manual.
Please see the Jepson eFlora for up-to-date information about California vascular plants. |
| Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange |
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TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
Print edition is available from the University of California Press |
| The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press | |
| See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition |
Annual, perennial herb, shrubs, generally bristly or sharply hairy
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves cauline, often with basal rosette, generally simple, alternate; lower sometimes opposite, entire
Inflorescence: cyme, generally elongate, panicle-, raceme- or spike-like, coiled in flower, generally uncoiled in fruit or flowers 1–2 per axil
Flowers generally bisexual, generally radial; sepals 5, free or fused in lower half; corolla 5-lobed, generally salverform, top of tube generally appendaged, appendages 5, alternating with stamens, sometimes arching over tube; stamens 5, epipetalous; ovary superior, generally 4-lobed, style generally entire
Fruit: nutlets 1–4, smooth to variously roughened, sometimes prickly or bristled
Genera in family: ± 100 genera, ± 2000 species: tropical, temp, especially w North America, Medit; some cultivated (Borago, Echium, Myosotis, Symphytum ).Almost all genera may be TOXIC from alkaloids or accumulated nitrates
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Hydrophyllaceae [Olmsted et al. 2000 Mol Phylog Evol 16:96–112]
Family description, key to genera by Timothy C. Messick.
Annual
Stem 2–40 cm, strigose, breaking apart at nodes or not
Leaves generally alternate, generally 0.5–4 cm, ± linear, strigose to sharp-bristled
Inflorescence: pedicel in fruit generally free from nutlets, generally recurved
Flower: sepals generally < fruit, upper 2 in fruit generally > others; corolla 0.8–3 mm, white; style attached to receptacle, unbranched, generally persistent, stigma 1, head-like
Fruit: nutlets generally 4, spreading, 1–4.5 mm, generally paired, generally compressed, marginal prickles hooked at tip, not barbed; nutlet pairs or all 4 often dissimilar in shape, ornamentation, margin width
Species in genus: 15 species: CA to B.C., WY, TX, n Mex; also South America
Etymology: (Greek: comb nut, from dentate nutlet margins in some species)
Reference: [Veno 1979 PhD dissertation UCLA]Horticultural information: STBL.
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Stem prostrate to decumbent, 6–26 cm
Inflorescence: pedicel in fruit 1.5–3 mm
Fruit: nutlet body 2–3.8 mm, straight or slightly recurved near tip, linear-oblanceolate; margin teeth distinct ± to base, width at base generally < length
Chromosomes: n=24
Ecology: Roadsides, grassy slopes, clearings
Elevation: 5–2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, Central Western California, Southwestern California, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: Baja California; also s S.America
Flowering time: Mar–May
| YOU CAN HELP US make sure that our distributional information is correct and current. If you know that a plant occurs in a wild, reproducing state in a Jepson bioregion NOT highlighted on the map, please contact us with that information. Please realize that we cannot incorporate range extensions without access to a voucher specimen, which should (ultimately) be deposited in an herbarium. You can send the pressed, dried collection (with complete locality information indicated) to us (e-mail us for details) or refer us to an accessioned herbarium specimen. Non-occurrence of a plant in an indicated area is difficult to document, but we will especially value your input on those types of possible errors (see automatic conversion of distribution data to maps). |
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