TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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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 35, generally ± free; petals generally 35, ± free or fused; stamens = to >> sepals, free or epipetalous; pistils generally 35, simple (sometimes fused at base), ovary 1-chambered, placenta 1, parietal, ovules 1many, style 1
Fruit: follicles generally 35
Seeds 1many, 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.
Perennial, fleshy, glabrous
Stem generally caudex or corm-like, generally vertical, branched or not, generally covered with dried leaves or leaf bases
Leaves in basal rosettes, evergreen vernal and ephemeral
Inflorescence: cyme, axillary, 1-sided; bracts leaf-like, alternate
Flower: sepals 5, fused below; petals 5, fused at base, erect to spreading above; stamens 10, epipetalous; pistils 5, ± fused below
Fruit: follicles 5, erect to spreading, many-seeded
Seed < 1 mm, narrowly ovoid, brown, striate
Species in genus: ± 45 species: sw North America
Etymology: (W.R. Dudley, western US botanist, 18491911)
Reference: [Moran in Jacobsen 1960 Handb Succ Plant:344359]
Unopened follicles generally most reliable for posture (erect, spreading, etc.).
Native |
Stem: caudex 13 cm wide, branched
Leaf 415 cm, 14 cm wide, 46 mm thick, oblong-oblanceolate, glaucous; base 14 cm wide; tip acute to acuminate
Inflorescence: 1° branches ± 3, forked 02 X ; peduncle 23 dm, 38 mm wide; terminal branches 410 cm, 715-flowered; pedicel 14 mm
Flower: sepals 2.54 mm, deltate, acute; petals 810.5 mm, 34 mm wide, fused 12 mm, narrowly ovate, yellow, tips generally outcurved, acute
Fruit: follicles ascending
Chromosomes: n=34
Ecology: Steep slopes
Elevation: < 110 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Channel Islands (Santa Barbara Island)
Horticultural information: In cultivation.