HYDROPHYLLACEAE

WATERLEAF FAMILY

Richard R. Halse, except as specified; Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, generally hairy, generally taprooted
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves simple to pinnately compound, basal or cauline, alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cyme (generally raceme-like and coiled) or flowers solitary
Flower bisexual, generally radial; calyx lobes generally 5, generally fused at base, generally persistent, enlarging in fruit; corolla generally deciduous, rotate to cylindric, lobes generally 5, appendages in pairs on tube between filaments or 0; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, filament base sometimes appendaged, appendages scale-like; ovary generally superior, chamber 1, placentas 2, parietal, enlarged into chamber, sometimes meeting so ovary appears 2–5-chambered, styles 1–2, stigmas generally head-like
Fruit: capsule, generally loculicidal; valves generally 2
Genera in family: 20 genera, 300 species: especially w US; some cultivated (Emmenanthe, Nemophila, Phacelia )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to be included in an expanded Boraginaceae (also including Lennoaceae) [Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Olmstead et al. 2000 Mol Phylog Evol 16:96–112]

NAMA

PURPLE MAT

John D. Bacon

Generally annual, hairy
Leaves cauline, generally alternate, simple; margin entire, wavy, crenate, or rolled under
Inflorescence: clusters (generally terminal, leafy) or flowers solitary or paired in axils, not coiled
Flower: corolla salverform to bell-shaped; stamens generally attached to corolla at different levels, generally unequal, portion fused to corolla generally narrowly winged; scales at filament base 0
Fruit generally loculicidal, ovoid to elliptic
Seeds generally many, small, reddish brown, brown, black or yellow
Species in genus: ± 55 species: sw US, tropical Am, Hawaii
Etymology: (Greek: a stream)
Reference: [Hitchcock 1933 Amer J Bot 20:415–430, 518–534]

Native

N. rothrockii A. Gray

Perennial, rhizomed, forming colonies, generally densely short-glandular-hairy and long-bristly-nonglandular-hairy; longer hairs generally swollen at base
Stem erect, simple to few-branched, 20–30 cm, sticky
Leaf 2–6 cm, lanceolate to elliptic, margin crenate-dentate
Inflorescence: heads, terminal; pedicels ± 1 mm
Flower: sepals 8–15 mm, linear-lanceolate; corolla 13–18 mm, ± funnel-shaped, pink, purple, or pale blue, limb 8–10 mm diam, lobes 4–6 mm, 3–6 mm wide; stamens 6–11 mm, attached 4–7 mm above corolla base; styles 7–11 mm
Fruit 3–6 mm
Seed 1–2 mm, ovoid, red-brown to brown, minutely pitted
Chromosomes: 2n=34
Ecology: Sandy alluvial flats, gravelly granitic slopes, meadows
Elevation: 1700–4000 m.
Bioregional distribution: c&s High Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains
Distribution outside California: Nevada, nw Arizona
Flowering time: Jul–Aug
Horticultural information: TRY; DFCLT.