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 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(27); 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 1many 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 5:1278]
Annual, biennial, perennial herb, generally from taproot
Leaves basal or cauline, alternate, generally pinnately toothed to lobed
Inflorescence: spike, raceme-like, or flowers in axils of upper, reduced leaves
Flower radial, generally opening at dusk; sepals 4, reflexed in flower (sometimes 23 remaining adherent); petals 4, yellow, white, rose, or ± purple, generally fading orangish to purplish, tip notched or toothed; stamens 8, anthers attached at middle; ovary chambers 4, stigma deeply lobed, generally > anthers and cross-pollinated (or ± = anthers and self-pollinated)
Fruit cylindric to 4-winged, straight to curved, generally sessile (base sometimes seedless, stalk-like)
Seeds in generally 2(13) rows per chamber, or clustered
Species in genus: 119 species: Am, some widely naturalized
Etymology: (Greek: wine-scented)
Reference: [Dietrich & Wagner 1988 Syst Bot Monogr 24:191]
Many species self-pollinated; some of these have chromosome peculiarities (ring of 14 in meiosis) and ± 50% pollen fertility; they yield genetically ± identical offspring; they are identified as Permanent Translocation Heterozygote.
Introduced |
Perennial, rosetted when young, minutely and sometimes densely strigose (lower stem sometimes also long-hairy)
Stem decumbent to ascending, 15(10) dm
Leaves: cauline 1.54 cm, oblanceolate to elliptic, generally subentire to wavy-dentate
Inflorescence: flowers in upper axils
Flower: hypanthium 48 mm; sepals 58 mm, free tips in bud 1 mm; petals 510 mm, rose to rose-purple
Fruit much wider toward tip; body 810 mm, 34 mm wide; valves each with median rib; stalk-like base 520 mm, ribbed, tapered
Seeds clustered in each chamber, 0.50.8 mm, obliquely oblanceolate, finely granular-papillate
Chromosomes: 2n=14
Ecology: Disturbed places
Elevation: generally < 500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Western Transverse Ranges
Distribution outside California: native to Texas, Mexico, S.America
Self-pollinated. Permanent translocation heterozygote.