Common Name: GENTIAN FAMILY Habit: Annual to perennial herb [to trees]. Stem: decumbent to erect, < 2 m, simple or branched. Leaf: simple, cauline, sometimes also basal, opposite or whorled, entire, sessile or basal +- petioled; stipules 0. Flower: bisexual, radial, parts in 4s or 5s except pistil 1; sepals fused, persistent; petals fused, +- persistent, sinus between lobes often unappendaged; stamens epipetalous, alternate corolla lobes; ovary superior, chamber 1, placentas parietal, often intruding, stigmas 1--2. Fruit: capsule, 2-valved. Seed: many. Genera In Family: +- 90 genera, 1800 species: worldwide; some cultivated (Eustoma, Exacum, Gentiana). Note:Gentianella tenella moved to Comastoma. Key to genera revised by Bruce G. Baldwin. eFlora Treatment Author: James S. Pringle, except as noted Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Common Name: CENTAURY Habit: Annual, glabrous. Stem: erect, generally branched. Leaf: cauline, opposite (sometimes also basal). Inflorescence: cyme. Flower: parts in 4s or generally 5s; calyx lobes >> tube (discounting thin membrane between lobes in Zeltnera davyi), appressed to corolla tube, generally not keeled; corolla salverform, white or generally pink, lobes <= tube, +- entire, scales 0, nectaries pits 0 (nectaries elsewhere 0); stamens often initially curved to 1 side, dehisced anthers spirally twisted; ovary sessile, style generally thread-like, deciduous, entire or cleft < 1 mm, stigmas 1, 2-lobed, or 2, stigmas or lobes wedge- to fan-shaped. Etymology: (L. Zeltner, N. Zeltner, Swiss botanists, b. 1938, 1934) Note: Variable, difficult; further study needed, especially of chromosome numbers, hybridization. Zeltnera calycosa (Buckley) G. Mans. [Centaurium calycosum (Buckley) Fernald] not in California. Reference: Mansion 2004 Taxon 53:719--740 Unabridged Reference: Mansion & Zeltner 2004 Amer J Bot 91:2069--2086
Zeltnera venusta (A. Gray) G. Mans.
NATIVE Habit: Plant 3--50 cm. Leaf: generally cauline, 5--25 mm, narrow-ovate-oblong to lanceolate. Inflorescence: +- open; pedicels generally 4--25 mm. Flower: corolla (7)16--30 mm, lobes (2)5--20 mm, lanceolate to spoon-shaped or elliptic-obovate, tip obtuse to +- acute; stigmas 2. Chromosomes: 2n=34. Ecology: Dry grassland, scrub, chaparral, openings in woodland; Elevation: < 1800 m. Bioregional Distribution: KR, s NCoRO, NCoRI, CaRF, SNF, e SnJV, SW (exc n ChI), SNE, DMoj; Distribution Outside California: to Baja California. Flowering Time: May--Aug Synonyms: Centaurium venustum (A. Gray) B.L. Rob.; Centaurium venustum subsp. abramsii Munz; Zeltnera abramsii (Munz) G. Mans. Unabridged Note: Highly variable. If recognized taxonomically, plants with narrow, acute corolla lobes assignable to Centaurium venustum subsp. abramsii Munz or Zeltnera abramsii (Munz) G. Mans. They occur sporadically throughout much of the range of Zeltnera venusta, but are more common northward. Intergradation appears to be extensive, but recognition as a variety may be appropriate. Some may be hybrids with Zeltnera trichantha. Plants in SW with pedicels to 50 mm, sometimes several-stemmed from base and/or with +- persistent basal leaves, may be hybrids with Zeltnera exaltata. Jepson eFlora Author: James S. Pringle Reference: Mansion 2004 Taxon 53:719--740 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Zeltnera trichantha Next taxon: Geraniaceae
Citation for this treatment: James S. Pringle 2012, Zeltnera venusta, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=81831, accessed on April 18, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 18, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Zeltnera venusta:
KR, s NCoRO, NCoRI, CaRF, SNF, e SnJV, SW (exc n ChI), SNE, DMoj
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
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