| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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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 tree
Leaves basal or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled, generally simple and toothed (to pinnately compound); stipules 0 or generally deciduous
Inflorescence: spike, raceme, panicle, or flowers solitary in axils; bracted
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial, opening at dawn or dusk; hypanthium sometimes prolonged beyond ovary (measured from ovary tip to sepal base); sepals generally 4(2–7); petals generally 4 (or as many as sepals, rarely 0), often "fading" darker; stamens generally 4 or 8(2), anthers 2-chambered, opening lengthwise, pollen generally interconnected by threads; ovary inferior, chambers generally 4 (sometimes becoming 1), placentas axile or parietal, ovules 1–many per chamber, style 1, stigma 4-lobed (or lobes as many as sepals), club-shaped, or hemispheric
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal (sometimes berry or indehiscent and nut-like)
Seeds sometimes winged or hair-tufted
Genera in family: 15 genera, ± 650 species: worldwide, especially w North America; many cultivated (Clarkia, Epilobium, Fuchsia, Gaura, Oenothera )
Reference: [Munz 1965 North America Fl II 5:1–278]
Annual, biennial, perennial herb, from woody caudex, rhizome, or taproot
Leaves basal and cauline, alternate, sessile; margin generally wavy-dentate
Inflorescence: spike, terminal, bracted
Flower generally bilateral, opening at dusk or dawn; sepals generally 4, generally widely opening; petals generally 4, white or yellow, often fading reddish or purplish; stamens 8, filaments generally with paired teeth at base, anthers attached at middle; ovary chambers generally 4 (in fruit 1), stigma deeply lobed, generally elevated above anthers (plant then cross-pollinated)
Fruit indehiscent, ± erect, nut-like, generally 4-angled or -winged; walls woody; base stalk-like or not
Seeds generally 3–4, generally 2–3 mm, ovoid, generally flat-sided, yellowish to pale brown
Species in genus: 21 species: temp North America (especially TX), C.Am
Etymology: (Greek: proud, from showy flowers of some)
Reference: [Raven & Gregory 1972 Mem Torrey Bot Club 23:1–96]
| Introduced |
Perennial, forming large mats, rhizomed; hairs generally sparse or 0
Stem 20–60 cm, branched, sparsely minutely strigose and with long, spreading hairs
Leaf 10–110 mm, linear to narrow-oblanceolate, slightly wavy-dentate
Inflorescence: bracts 1–5 mm
Flower: hypanthium 2.5–5 mm; sepals 7–14 mm; petals 7–14.5 mm
Fruit erect, 4–16 mm, ± linear, narrowly 4-winged; stalk-like base 2–8 mm, slender, tapered
Seeds 1–4, 2–3 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=28
Ecology: Light sandy loam of cultivated fields
Elevation: < 1000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, Central Western California, Southwestern California, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: native to Oklahoma, Texas; widely naturalized, especially se US
Flowering time: Jun–Sep
Synonyms: G. villosa Torr. (including var. mckelveyae Munz) misapplied
Weedy.