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dwarf ayenia, hairy ayenia

dwarf ayenia, eyebright ayenia

Habit Subshrubs, decumbent, 0.1–0.2(–0.3) m. Stems hairy, hairs simple and retrorse, or simple, fasciculate, and stellate. Subshrubs, decumbent to ascending, 0.1–0.4 m. Stems hairy, hairs mostly simple, often retrorse, sometimes also fasciculate and/or stellate.
Leaves

petiole 0.5–1 cm;

blades of proximal leaves broadly ovate to orbiculate, 0.5–1.3 × 0.5–1.1 cm, distal ovate to oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, unlobed, 0.5–2(–3.5) × 0.4–1.4(–1.7) cm, base cordate, margins serrate to doubly serrate, ciliate with 1+ bristles per tooth, apex acute, 3–5-veined from base, surfaces moderately to sparingly hirsute, hairs usually simple, bifurcate, and fasciculate, sometimes also stellate.

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.

Pedicels

1.5–2 mm.

Flowers

sepals persistent, not reflexed at anthesis, ovate, 2 mm, sparingly stellate-hairy abaxially;

petal claws 4 mm, lamina rhombic, 1 × 1 mm, base attenuate on claw, margins entire, apex notched, surfaces sparingly hairy abaxially, hairs simple, multicellular, abaxial appendage cylindric to slightly clavate, 0.5 mm;

androgynophore 1.5 mm;

stamen filaments present;

stigmas slightly exserted.

Capsules

subspheric, 3–3.5 × 3.5 mm, sparingly stellate-hairy, prickles 0.5 mm.

oblate to subspheric, 4–5 × 4–5 mm, sparingly stellate-pubescent, prickles 0.3–0.5 mm.

Seeds

2–2.5 mm, sparingly tuberculate.

2 mm, densely tuberculate.

Cymes

axillary, not borne on short shoots (brachyblasts), (1 or)2 or 3-flowered;

peduncle 2–3 mm.

Ayenia pilosa

Ayenia euphrasiifolia

Phenology Flowering and fruiting year-round. Flowering and fruiting year-round.
Habitat Edges of thickets Marl over limestone, pinelands, sandy scrub, rocky flats, waste places
Elevation 600–1200 m (2000–3900 ft) 0–10 m (0–0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
NM; TX; Mexico (Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Leaf shape and vestiture are the principal characters used to distinguish Ayenia pilosa from A. filiformis. Where they co-occur in southwestern Texas there are intermediates in which the leaves are oblong-ovate as in A. pilosa but the vestiture is more like that of A. filiformis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

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.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 206. FNA vol. 6, p. 204.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Byttnerioideae > Ayenia Malvaceae > subfam. Byttnerioideae > Ayenia
Sibling taxa
A. compacta, A. euphrasiifolia, A. filiformis, A. jaliscana, A. limitaris, A. microphylla
A. compacta, A. filiformis, A. jaliscana, A. limitaris, A. microphylla, A. pilosa
Synonyms A. tenuicaulis
Name authority Cristóbal: Opera Lilloana 4: 185, fig. 65. (1960) Grisebach: Cat. Pl. Cub., 29. (1866)
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