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Vascular Plants of California
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Boerhavia coccinea
SCARLET SPIDERLING


Higher Taxonomy
Family: NyctaginaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: FOUR O'CLOCK FAMILY
Habit: Annual, perennial herb, subshrub, [shrub, tree], glabrous or hairy. Stem: often forked. Leaf: opposite, sessile or petioled, pairs generally unequal; blade generally entire. Inflorescence: generally forked; spike, head-like cluster, or umbel, flowers rarely 1, bracts forming a calyx-like involucre or not. Flower: bisexual, generally +- radial (bilateral), sometimes cleistogamous in some genera; perianth of 1 whorl, generally petal-like, bell- to trumpet-shaped, base hardened, tightly surrounding ovary in fruit, lobes 3--5, generally notched to +- lobed; stamens 1--many; ovary superior (appearing inferior due to hardened perianth base), style 1. Fruit: achene in hardened perianth base; round to +- flat; smooth, angled, ribbed, or winged; glabrous, hairy, or glandular.
Genera In Family: 30 genera, 350 species: warm regions, especially America; some ornamental (Bougainvillea; Mirabilis, four o'clock).
eFlora Treatment Author: Andy Murdock, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: BoerhaviaView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Common Name: SPIDERLING
Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: prostrate to erect; internode often with sticky region. Leaf: petioled; blade 1--6 cm, paler beneath, often brown-dotted. Inflorescence: panicle-like, branches ending in umbel, spike-like raceme, or paired or solitary flowers; bracts 1--3, free, not forming involucre. Flower: closing by evening; perianth bell-shaped, tube < 5 mm, limb < 3 mm; stamens 1--5; stigma +- spheric, generally exserted. Fruit: < 4 mm, club-shaped; ribs 4--5; wings 0.
Etymology: (H. Boerhaave, Dutch botanist, 1668--1738)
eFlora Treatment Author: Andy Murdock
Reference: Spellenberg 2003 FNANM 4:17--28; Spellenberg 2012 Phytoneuron 2012-88: 1--2
Boerhavia coccinea Mill.
NATIVE
Habit: Perennial herb. Stem: prostrate or sprawling, < 15 dm; hairy, generally glandular. Leaf: blade broadly ovate, blunt, slightly wavy. Inflorescence: umbel. Flower: perianth limb 1--2 mm, red-violet. Fruit: 2.5--3.5 mm, glandular-hairy, wide, smooth between ribs; tip rounded. Chromosomes: 2n=24.
Ecology: Dry disturbed places; Elevation: < 1000 m. Bioregional Distribution: s SnJV, SCo, PR, DSon; Distribution Outside California: to southeastern United States, northwestern South America. Flowering Time: Apr--Jul
Jepson eFlora Author: Andy Murdock
Reference: Spellenberg 2003 FNANM 4:17--28; Spellenberg 2012 Phytoneuron 2012-88: 1--2
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

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Botanical illustration including Boerhavia coccinea

botanical illustration including Boerhavia coccinea

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Citation for this treatment: Andy Murdock 2019, Boerhavia coccinea, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 7, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=15815, 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.

Boerhavia coccinea
click for enlargement
©2014 Keir Morse
Boerhavia coccinea
click for enlargement
©2014 Keir Morse
Boerhavia coccinea
click for enlargement
©2014 Keir Morse
Boerhavia coccinea
click for enlargement
©2014 Keir Morse
Boerhavia coccinea
click for enlargement
©2014 Keir Morse

More photos of Boerhavia coccinea
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Geographic subdivisions for Boerhavia coccinea:
s SnJV, SCo, PR, DSon
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map of distribution 1
(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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All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).