HYDROPHYLLACEAE

WATERLEAF FAMILY

Richard R. Halse, except as specified; Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, generally hairy, generally taprooted
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves simple to pinnately compound, basal or cauline, alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cyme (generally raceme-like and coiled) or flowers solitary
Flower bisexual, generally radial; calyx lobes generally 5, generally fused at base, generally persistent, enlarging in fruit; corolla generally deciduous, rotate to cylindric, lobes generally 5, appendages in pairs on tube between filaments or 0; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, filament base sometimes appendaged, appendages scale-like; ovary generally superior, chamber 1, placentas 2, parietal, enlarged into chamber, sometimes meeting so ovary appears 2–5-chambered, styles 1–2, stigmas generally head-like
Fruit: capsule, generally loculicidal; valves generally 2
Genera in family: 20 genera, 300 species: especially w US; some cultivated (Emmenanthe, Nemophila, Phacelia )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to be included in an expanded Boraginaceae (also including Lennoaceae) [Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Olmstead et al. 2000 Mol Phylog Evol 16:96–112]

ROMANZOFFIA

Annual, perennial herb, ± scapose; herbage ± glabrous to generally sparsely soft-hairy
Stem erect
Leaves simple; basal long-petioled, blades reniform to round, shallowly lobed or toothed; cauline few, reduced, alternate
Inflorescence loose; flowers on pedicels
Flower: corolla > calyx, bell- to funnel-shaped, white, generally yellow in center; stamens included, subequal; ovary chambers 2, style 1, thread-like, included, generally slightly lobed
Fruit oblong to ovoid
Seeds many, ovoid, angular, brown, pitted
Species in genus: 5 species: CA, AK, MT, w Can
Etymology: (Count N. von Romanzoff, promoter of Russian expedition to CA in 1816)

Native

R. sitchensis Bong.

Plant 10–30 cm; tubers 0
Leaf: petioles 1–6 cm, widened, overlapping, forming bulbous base of stem, generally ciliate; blades 1–4 cm wide
Inflorescence > leaves, sometimes glandular; pedicels 1–3 cm in fruit, slender
Flower: calyx lobes 2–4 mm, oblong, generally obtuse, glabrous, sometimes glandular; corolla 5–11 mm; ovary sparsely soft-hairy, glandular, style 2–5 mm
Fruit 4–7 mm
Chromosomes: n=11
Ecology: Uncommon. Moist clefts in rocks
Elevation: 1700–2100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges
Distribution outside California: to Alaska, w Canada, Montana
Horticultural information: DRN, IRR: 4, 5 &SHD: 1, 2, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17.