NATIVEHabit: Annual, from taproot; hairs bristly, in inflorescence also glandular.
Stem: erect, branched, 2--14 cm, slender, peeling near base.
Leaf: cauline, alternate, +- sessile; blade 3--30 mm, narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, entire.
Inflorescence: raceme, nodding in bud.
Flower: opening at dawn; hypanthium 1--2 mm; sepals 4, 1.5--2.5 mm, reflexed singly or occasionally in pairs; petals 4, 1.5--2.5 mm, notched at tip, white, with yellow area at base, fading purple; longer stamens opposite sepals, anthers attached at base, pollen grains 3-angled; stigma hemispheric, +- = anthers, self-pollinated.
Fruit: (3)4-chambered, ascending or spreading, 12--28 mm, 0.6--0.8 mm wide, straight or slightly curved, cylindric, slightly swollen by seeds; pedicel 4--8 mm.
Seed: in 2 rows per chamber, 1--1.5 mm, with concave and convex sides, concave side with a thick wing, both sides densely covered with glassy club-shaped hairs.
Chromosomes: 2n=14.
Ecology: Uncommon. Well-drained, generally volcanic slopes, pinyon/juniper woodland, sagebrush scrub;
Elevation: 1400--2400 m.
Bioregional Distribution: W&I, DMtns (Panamint Range);
Distribution Outside California: to Oregon, western Utah, northwestern Arizona.
Flowering Time: May--Jun
Note: Self-pollinated.
Synonyms: Camissonia pterosperma (S. Watson) P.H. Raven; Oenothera pterosperma S. Watson
Jepson eFlora Author: Warren L. Wagner & Peter C. Hoch, family description, key to genera, treatment of genera by Warren L. Wagner
Reference: [Wagner et al. 2007 Syst Bot Monogr 83:1--240]
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
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