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 |
Shrub, tree, generally dioecious
Stem often thorny; bark often bitter
Leaves generally alternate, simple, entire, or pinnately compound with subentire leaflets
Inflorescence: panicle, raceme, or flowers solitary
Flower inconspicuous; sepals generally 5, generally fused at base, generally erect; petals generally 5, free, generally spreading; stamens generally 10–15, generally inserted on a disk, filaments often with a basal scale; pistils generally 2–5, ovaries superior, 1-ovuled (if pistil 1, chambers generally 2–5, 1-ovuled), styles free or partly fused
Fruit: winged achene, drupe, berry, or capsule
Genera in family: ± 25 genera, ± 150 species: tropical, warm temp; some cultivated
Reference: [Brizicky 1962 J Arnold Arbor 43:173–186]
Bark, leaves used in medicine.
Shrub or small tree, appearing ± leafless, dioecious; thorns large, branched
Leaf simple, sometimes scale-like
Flower: calyx lobes 4–8; petals 4–8; stamens 8–24; ovaries 4–8, adherent near middle, style bases fused, tips spreading
Fruit: drupe, dry, 4–8 per flower, spreading
Species in genus: ± 15 species: sw & s-c US, to South America
Etymology: (René R.L. Castel, French botanist, poet, editor, opera librettist, 1759–1832)
Reference: [Moran & Felger 1968 Trans San Diego Soc Nat Hist 15:31–40]
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Plant generally < 1 m, intricately branched; young parts densely puberulent
Leaf scale-like, entire, ephemeral and rarely seen
Inflorescence: panicle, much-branched, 2.5–5 cm, stiff
Flower 6–8 mm diam
Fruit ± 6 mm, flat-topped; base ± rounded, sometimes persisting several years
Seed 1
Ecology: Dry, gravelly washes, slopes, plains
Elevation: ± 650 m.
Bioregional distribution: Desert
Distribution outside California: Arizona, nw Mexico
Flowering time: Jun–Jul
Synonyms: Holacantha e. A. Gray
Two other desert plants have same common name.
See the CNPS Inventory for information about endangerment and rarity.| 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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