Habit: Annual [perennial herb], generally hairy.
Stem: branches basal or from erect stem, prostrate or decumbent to ascending.
Leaf: all basal or basal and cauline, alternate except for bracts, awnless; ocreae 0.
Inflorescence: cyme-like, open to +- congested; axes generally 3 from plant base or proximalmost branching node of erect stem, equally or unequally forked; bracts opposite or whorled, entire, generally in whorl of 3 at proximalmost branching node, not distinguishable from basal leaves in plants branched from base, distal generally opposite, proximal leaf-like or some or all scale-like to linear, needle-like, awnless or distal often all awned; involucres sessile, generally solitary at axis forks, distally in loose to dense clusters; involucre tubular, 3--6-ribbed, lobes 3, 5, or 6, equally or unequally awned, awns straight or hooked; involucres at forks often differing from those in clusters.
Flower: 1(2) per involucre; pedicel short, included in involucre; perianth glabrous or hairy, white, yellow, pink, maroon, or purple, sometimes 2-colored, lobes (5)6, entire, minutely toothed, or fringed, tip acute, rounded, notched, or 2-lobed; stamens generally 3, 6, or 9.
Fruit: generally brown or black, generally ellipsoid, glabrous; embryo straight or curved.
Species In Genus: +- 50 species: temperate western North America; southwestern South America.
Etymology: (Greek: divided flower, for perianth lobes)
Note: Involucre length measurements include lobes and awns unless otherwise specified.
Chorizanthe minutiflora and
C. aphanantha newly described, added;
C. eastwoodiae segregated from
C. angustifolia.
Jepson eFlora Author: James L. Reveal, Thomas J. Rosatti, David Gowen & David J. Keil
Reference: Morgan et al. 2014 Phytoneuron 2014-63:1--9; Nelson et al. 2018 Madroño 65:184--191; Gowen & Johnson 2020 Phytotaxa 455(1):1--8.
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Key to Chorizanthe
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