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 or perennial herb, generally fleshy
Stems generally glabrous
Leaves simple, alternate or opposite, sometimes stipuled
Inflorescence various
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals generally 2(8), free or fused at base; petals 318, free or ± fused; stamens 1many, free or inserted on corolla; ovary superior or partly inferior, chamber 1, placenta free-central or basal; styles 28, generally fused at base
Fruit: capsule, circumscissile or 23-valved
Seeds 1many, generally black, generally shiny
Genera in family: ± 20 genera, ± 400 species: generally temp Am, Australia, s Africa; some cultivated (Lewisia, Portulaca, Calandrinia )
Reference: [Bogle 1969 J Arnold Arbor 50:566598]
Family description and key to genera by Dieter H. Wilken & Walter A. Kelley.
Annual or perennial herb, from stolon, rhizome, tuber, or taproot, glabrous, ± fleshy
Leaves entire; basal 0many, rosetted; cauline generally 2, generally opposite, free to fully fused into ± 2-toothed disk or cup surrounding stem
Inflorescence: raceme, terminal, 1-sided; pedicels reflexed, becoming erect in fruit
Flower: petals 5, pink or white; stamens 5, epipetalous; ovary chamber 1, placentas basal, style 1, stigmas 3
Fruit: capsule; valves 3, margins rolling inward and forcibly expelling seeds
Seeds 36, generally black, generally clearly appendaged
Species in genus: 28 species: North America, e Asia
Etymology: (John Clayton, colonial Am botanist, born 1686)
Reference: [Miller 1978 Syst Bot 3:322341; Miller & Chambers 1993 Novon 3:268273]
Some species formerly placed in Montia.
Native |
Annual
Stem 140 cm, spreading to erect
Leaves: basal 125 cm, blade < 4 cm, < 3 X longer than wide, elliptic to reniform, tip rounded to acute, petiole linear; cauline pair fused, disk-like, < 10 cm diam, round or squarish (or free on 1 side)
Inflorescence stalked or sessile, open or dense, 1-bracted at base; flowers 540
Flower: sepals 1.55 mm; petals 26 mm, white or pinkish
Fruit 1.54 mm
Seed 1.22.7 mm, ovate to round, shiny, smooth
Ecology: Common. Vernally moist, often shady or disturbed sites
Elevation: < 2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Great Basin Floristic Province, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, C.America
Highly variable; subspp. difficult because of environmental plasticity, genetic mixing among polyploids, and geog overlap of distinct, self-pollinating forms.
Native |
Leaves: basal elliptic to round-deltate, tip obtuse to acute; cauline pair generally round or ± obtuse-angled
Chromosomes: 2n=24,36,48,60
Ecology: Habitats and range (except s AZ to C.Am) of sp
Elevation:
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: British Columbia, Montana, to c Arizona
Synonyms: Montia p. (Donn) Howell
Polyploids are derived from hybridization with subsp. mexicana , C. parviflora , C. rubra
Horticultural information: DRN: 4 &SHD: 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 &IRR: 1, 2, 8; grown or collected as a salad plant; rather INV.