Habit: Annual, from taproot; rosette generally +- 0.
Leaf: cauline, alternate, simple, generally linear to narrowly elliptic.
Inflorescence: bracted; spike or raceme, nodding in bud, erect in fruit, flowers only at distal nodes.
Flower: radial, generally opening at dawn; sepals 4, reflexed singly or in pairs; petals 4, yellow, generally fading red, often with red basal spots; stamens 8, longer ones opposite sepals, anthers attached at middle, pollen grains 3-angled except in polyploid taxa, at 20×; ovary chambers 4, stigma hemispheric, generally > anthers and cross-pollinated, or +- = anthers and self-pollinated.
Fruit: +- cylindric, straight to wavy, distorted by seeds at maturity, dehiscent throughout most of its length; pedicel +- 0 or <= 2(15) mm, 0 or shorter in flower.
Seed: in 1 row per chamber, narrowly obovoid, smooth (minutely pitted), glossy.
Species In Genus: 12 species: western North America (especially CA-FP), 1 South America.
Etymology: (L.A. von Chamisso, French-born German botanist, 1781--1838)
Note: Polyploidy and self-pollination have predominated in evolution of genus. Not monophyletic as treated in TJM (1993); segregates moved to
Camissoniopsis,
Chylismia,
Chylismiella,
Eremothera,
Eulobus,
Neoholmgrenia,
Taraxia,
Tetrapteron (Wagner et al. 2007).
Jepson eFlora Author: Warren L. Wagner
Reference: [Wagner et al. 2007 Syst Bot Monogr 83:1--240]
Unabridged Reference: Raven 1969 Contr US Natl Herb 37:161--396Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Key to Camissonia
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