Ayenia euphrasiifolia |
Ayenia compacta |
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dwarf ayenia, eyebright ayenia |
California ayenia, compact ayenia, desert ayenia |
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Habit | Subshrubs, decumbent to ascending, 0.1–0.4 m. Stems hairy, hairs mostly simple, often retrorse, sometimes also fasciculate and/or stellate. | Subshrubs, erect or decumbent, (0.1–)0.5–0.8(–1) m. Stems hairy, hairs stellate, arms appressed. |
Leaves | petiole (0.1–)0.2–0.5 cm; blade orbiculate to ovate, unlobed, 0.4–1.4 × 0.1–0.7 bifurcate, and fasciculate; petal claws 2–3 mm, lamina rhombic to ± triangular, 1 × 1 mm, base attenuate on claw, margins entire, apex notched, surfaces slightly hairy abaxially, hairs minute, simple, or glandlike, abaxial appendage cylindric to ± clavate, 0.5 mm; androgynophore (1–)2.2–3 mm; stamen filaments present; stigmas exserted. |
petiole 0.5(–0.8) cm; blades of proximal leaves orbiculate to broadly ovate, 0.3–0.5 × 0.3–0.5 cm, distal ovate to ovate-lanceolate, unlobed, 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.9 cm, base rounded to slightly cordate, margins serrate, ciliate, apex obtuse to subacute, 3(–5)-veined from base, surfaces stellate-hairy. |
Flowers | sepals caducous, not present in young fruit, not reflexed at anthesis, ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–3 mm, sparingly stellate-pubescent abaxially; petal claws 2–3 mm, lamina rhombic, 1–1.5 × 1.5–3 mm, base attenuate on claw, margins entire, apex notched, surfaces hairy abaxially, hairs simple, multicellular, abaxial appendage cylindric, 0.2–0.3 mm; androgynophore 1–1.5 mm; stamen filaments present; stigmas scarcely exserted. |
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Capsules | oblate to subspheric, 4–5 × 4–5 mm, sparingly stellate-pubescent, prickles 0.3–0.5 mm. |
subglobose, (3.5–)4.5–5 × 3–4.5 mm, sparingly stellate-pubescent, prickles 0.1–0.3 mm. |
Seeds | 2 mm, densely tuberculate. |
2–2.5(–2.9) mm, slightly to densely tuberculate. |
Cymes | axillary, not borne on short shoots (brachyblasts), 1(or 2)-flowered; peduncle 1–2.5 mm. |
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2n | = 20. |
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Ayenia euphrasiifolia |
Ayenia compacta |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting year-round. | Flowering and fruiting spring–early fall. |
Habitat | Marl over limestone, pinelands, sandy scrub, rocky flats, waste places | Rocky slopes, gravelly or sandy washes, dry canyons |
Elevation | 0–10 m (0–0 ft) | 100–1200 m (300–3900 ft) |
Distribution |
FL; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba) |
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
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Discussion | In Florida, Ayenia euphrasiifolia is found in the Florida Keys, south and east of Lake Okeechobee, and near Tampa Bay on the mainland. Three subspecies, two of them endemic, are recognized in Cuba but are not recognized here; they are based on rather weak morphological characters (habit, vestiture, and leaf texture) ostensibly correlated with vegetation type and soil substrate. If subspecies are accepted, plants in the flora area are subsp. euphrasiifolia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
In the United States, Ayenia compacta is known from southernmost California and Arizona; in Mexico, it is found on the Baja California peninsula and in Sonora on islands in the Gulf of California. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 204. | FNA vol. 6, p. 204. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. tenuicaulis | A. californica |
Name authority | Grisebach: Cat. Pl. Cub., 29. (1866) | Rose: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 8: 321. (1905) |
Web links |