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dwarf ayenia, eyebright ayenia

California ayenia, compact ayenia, desert ayenia

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.

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.

2n

= 20.

Ayenia euphrasiifolia

Ayenia compacta

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
from FNA
FL; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba)
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 Malvaceae > subfam. Byttnerioideae > Ayenia Malvaceae > subfam. Byttnerioideae > Ayenia
Sibling taxa
A. compacta, A. filiformis, A. jaliscana, A. limitaris, A. microphylla, A. pilosa
A. euphrasiifolia, A. filiformis, A. jaliscana, A. limitaris, A. microphylla, A. pilosa
Synonyms A. tenuicaulis A. californica
Name authority Grisebach: Cat. Pl. Cub., 29. (1866) Rose: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 8: 321. (1905)
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