POLEMONIACEAE

PHLOX FAMILY

Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, vine
Leaves simple or compound, cauline (or most in basal rosette), alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cymes, heads, or flowers solitary
Flower: calyx generally 5-ribbed, ribs often connected by translucent membranes that are generally torn by growing fruit; corolla generally 5-lobed, radial or bilateral, salverform to bell-shaped, throat often well defined; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, attached at same or different levels, filaments of same or different lengths, pollen white, yellow, blue, or red; ovary superior, chambers generally 3, style 1, stigmas generally 3
Fruit: capsule
Seeds 1–many, gelatinous or not when wet
Genera in family: 19 genera, 320 species: Am, n Eur, n Asia; some cultivated (Cantua, Cobaea (cup-and-saucer vine), Collomia, Gilia, Ipomopsis, Linanthus, Phlox )
Recent taxonomic note: *See also revised taxonomy of Porter and Johnson 2000 Aliso 19(1):55–91; Porter 1998 Aliso 17:83–85
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LOESELIASTRUM

Steven L. Timbrook

Annual, bristly and generally soft; hairs unbranched
Stem erect, generally naked below, leafy above
Leaves alternate, simple, 1–4 cm, linear to oblanceolate, toothed; teeth with 1 bristle
Inflorescence: bracts leaf-like; pedicels glandular
Flower: calyx lobes equal, bristle-tipped, glandular-hairy; corolla 2-lipped, white to deep pink, upper lip generally 3-lobed with maroon arches above throat, lower lip 2-lobed, less marked; stamens attached at or below sinuses, unequal, curved, exserted, pollen yellow; style exserted
Fruit 2–5 mm, ovoid, 3-lobed in X -section; outer wall of valve indented between walls separating chambers
Seeds gelatinous when wet
Species in genus: 2 species: sw US, n Mex
Etymology: (Latin: like Loeselia )
Reference: [Timbrook 1986 Madroño 33:157–174]
Self-compatible; generally cross-pollinated.

Native

L. matthewsii (A. Gray) S. Timbrook

DESERT CALICO

Flower: corolla strongly bilateral, white to deep rose-purple, upper lip 5–11 mm, 3/4 to > tube, lobe bases with bright maroon arches and white blotch, lower lip 4–7 mm, lobe tips generally truncate, 3-toothed or notched, generally with inward directed projections in sinuses on either side of middle lobe of upper lip; longer stamens > upper lip
Ecology: Common. Desert washes, flats, slopes, sandy to gravelly soils
Elevation: generally < 1800 m.
Bioregional distribution: East of Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, w Sonoran Desert (eastern San Diego Co.)
Distribution outside California: Nevada
Flowering time: Mar–Jun
Synonyms: Langloisia m. (A. Gray) Greene
Horticultural information: TRY.