| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual to subshrubs, fleshy
Leaves generally simple, generally basal and cauline, alternate or opposite, generally reduced upward
Inflorescence: generally cyme, generally bracted
Flower: sepals generally 3–5, generally ± free; petals generally 3–5, ± free or fused; stamens = to >> sepals, free or epipetalous; pistils generally 3–5, simple (sometimes fused at base), ovary 1-chambered, placenta 1, parietal, ovules 1–many, style 1
Fruit: follicles generally 3–5
Seeds 1–many, small
Genera in family: ± 30 genera, ± 1500 species: ± worldwide, especially dry temp; many cultivated for ornamental. Family description and generic key by Melinda F. Denton and Reid Moran.
Shrub
Leaves simple, opposite, sessile; margin entire
Inflorescence: cyme, terminal
Flower: sepals 5, ± free; corolla tube > sepals, often > lobes; stamens 10, hairy at base
Seeds many, elliptic in outline, ridged
Species in genus: 9 species: especially s Africa; some cultivated for ornamental
Etymology: (Greek: cavity)
Reference: [Tolken 1985 Fl S Africa 14:3–17]
| Introduced |
Plant < 1 m, erect, branched below, glabrous in CA
Leaf 5–12 cm, obovate to wedge-shaped, often red-margined, glaucous; tip rounded to obtuse
Inflorescence: peduncle 20–40 cm, thick, nearly leafless; flowers pendent
Flower: sepals 2–5 mm; corolla orange, tube 20–25 mm, cylindric, lobes 10–15 mm, recurved
Chromosomes: 2n=18
Ecology: Bluffs
Elevation: < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: c South Coast (Newport Beach, Orange Co.)
Distribution outside California: native to s Africa
Highly TOXIC to sheep and goats but rarely eaten .