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Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
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NYCTAGINACEAE

FOUR O'CLOCK FAMILY

Richard Spellenberg

Perennial, shrub, tree, glabrous or hairy
Stem often forked
Leaves opposite, sessile or petioled, pairs generally unequal; blade generally entire
Inflorescence generally forked; of spikes, clusters, or umbels, each unit sometimes with a calyx-like involucre
Flower bisexual, radial; perianth of 1 whorl, petal-like, bell- to trumpet-shaped, base hardened, tightly surrounding ovary in fruit, lobes 4–5, generally notched to ± bilateral; stamens 1–many; ovary superior (appearing inferior because of hardened perianth base), style 1
Fruit: achene or nut, smooth, wrinkled, or ribbed
Genera in family: 30 genera, 300 species: warm regions, especially Am; some ornamental (Bougainvillea ; Mirabilis , four o'clock).

ACLEISANTHES

TRUMPETS

Perennial from thick taproot, minutely hairy
Stem prostrate to ascending
Leaf sessile or petioled; blade < 8 cm, ± firm
Inflorescence: bracts 1–3, free, not forming an involucre; flower generally 1
Flower nocturnal or some cleistogamous; perianth trumpet-shaped, white, tube slender; stamens 5 (2 in cleistogamous flowers), slightly exserted; stigma ± spheric, exserted slightly beyond anthers
Fruit oblong, with rounded ridges, glabrous; wings 0
Species in genus: 7 species: especially Chihuahuan Desert, ne Mex
Etymology: (Greek: without closure, from absence of involucre)
Pollinated by hawkmoths.

Native

A. longiflora A. Gray

ANGEL TRUMPETS


Stem < 1 m
Leaf petioled; blade < 4 cm, lanceolate to triangular, acute to acuminate, margins ± wavy
Flower: perianth 7–17 cm, tube ± green or pale purple, limb 1–3 cm wide, white
Fruit 6–10 mm, oblong, ridges 5, 2 parallel grooves between adjacent ridges
Ecology: Dry places, generally on limestone
Elevation: 10–2500 m.
Bioregional distribution: e Sonoran Desert (Maria Mtns, e Riverside Co.)
Distribution outside California: to Texas, n Mexico
Flowering time: May
Horticultural information: TRY.

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