Flora of North America species comparison

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Camissoniopsis bistorta

Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia

California sun cup, southern suncup

beach evening-primrose, beach suncup
Habit Herbs annual, rarely short-lived perennial, usually villous, sometimes strigillose. Herbs short-lived perennial, sometimes woody at base, usually densely strigillose throughout, rarely glabrous, also villous distally.
Stems

1–several from base, ascending or decumbent, to 80 cm.

prostrate, decumbent, or ascending from base, to 60(–130) cm.
Leaves

1.2–12 × 0.2–1.5 cm;

petiole 0–4 cm, distal ones 0–0.3 cm;

blade (basal) narrowly elliptic or (cauline) usually narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate, rarely linear, base (basal) narrowly cuneate, (cauline) cuneate or subcordate, margins usually sparsely and inconspicuously denticulate, apex acute.

0.5–5 × 0.3–2.2 cm;

petiole 0–1.5(–2.5) cm, distal ones to 1 cm;

blade narrowly ovate, base attenuate, cuneate, or cordate, margins sparsely serrulate, apex acute.
Flowers

opening near sunrise;

floral tube 2–5(–7.5) mm;

sepals (2.3–)5–8(–11) mm;

petals yellow, each usually with 1 bright red dot, rarely 2, near base, (4.2–)7–15 mm; episepalous filaments (1–)1.5–3.5 mm, epipetalous filaments (0.5–)1–2.5 mm, anthers (0.5–)1.3–2(–2.5) mm, less than 5% of pollen grains 4- or 5-pored;

style (5.5–)7–12 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

opening near sunrise;

floral tube 2.1–8.5 mm;

sepals 4–11.5 mm;

petals yellow, often red-dotted near base, 6–20 mm; episepalous filaments 2.8–8 mm, epipetalous filaments 1.5–6 mm, anthers 1–3 mm, less than 5% of pollen grains 4- or 5-pored;

style 6–23 mm, stigma surrounded by or exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
Capsules

straight or somewhat contorted, weakly 4-angled, 12–40 × 1.5–2.5 mm.

often coiled in 1–2 spirals, 4-angled, 10–25 × 2–2.5 mm.
Seeds

0.9–1 mm.

1.2–1.3 mm.
2n

= 14.

Camissoniopsis bistorta

Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Sandy or clayey soils, coastal strands, grasslands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak woodlands, margins of Sonoran and Mojave deserts, rarely higher elevation meadows.
Elevation 0–1600(–2600) m. [0–5200(–8500) ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
w United States; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Camissoniopsis bistorta occurs in California from Ventura County south and east through the counties of southern Los Angeles, southwestern San Bernardino, Orange, western Riverside, and the western two-thirds of San Diego, reaching the margins of the desert in San Bernardino and San Diego counties, and southward in cismontane Baja California to Ojos Negros and San Vicente. The species occurs at exceptionally high elevations in the Santa Ana drainage of the San Bernardino Mountains. P. H. Raven (1969) indicated that there were occasional apparent hybrids between C. cheiranthifolia subsp. suffruticosa and C. bistorta occurring in intermediate habitats in areas where the two species co-occur. He determined that C. bistorta is self-incompatible.

Camissoniopsis bistorta was apparently introduced with stream gravel in 1959 in Goleta Marsh, Santa Barbara, California, and on ballast heaps at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in 1893. It has apparently not persisted at either site.

Oenothera heterophylla Nuttall ex Hooker & Arnott (1839), not Spach (1836), is an illegitimate name that pertains to Camissoniopsis bistorta.

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia occurs on slopes and dunes along the immediate coast and on islands from Coos Bay, Curry County, Oregon, to the vicinity of San Quintín, Baja California; it is also known from the east shore of San Francisco Bay and locally on sand dunes along the lower Sacramento River, California, 0–100 m. P. H. Raven (1969) determined C. cheiranthifolia to be self-incompatible (some populations in subsp. suffruticosa) or self-compatible (both subspecies) and apparently pollinated by oligolectic bees of Andrena subg. Onagrandrena (Raven); Raven subdivided the species into two intergrading subspecies.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants primarily herbaceous; petals 6–11 mm; style 6–9 mm; stigma usually surrounded by anthers.
subsp. cheiranthifolia
1. Plants woody at base; petals (10–)12–20 mm; style 13–23 mm; stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
subsp. suffruticosa
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Camissoniopsis Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Camissoniopsis
Sibling taxa
C. cheiranthifolia, C. confusa, C. guadalupensis, C. hardhamiae, C. hirtella, C. ignota, C. intermedia, C. lewisii, C. luciae, C. micrantha, C. pallida, C. robusta
C. bistorta, C. confusa, C. guadalupensis, C. hardhamiae, C. hirtella, C. ignota, C. intermedia, C. lewisii, C. luciae, C. micrantha, C. pallida, C. robusta
Subordinate taxa
C. cheiranthifolia subsp. cheiranthifolia, C. cheiranthifolia subsp. suffruticosa
Synonyms Oenothera bistorta, Camissonia bistorta, O. bistorta var. veitchiana, Sphaerostigma bistortum, S. bistortum var. veitchianum, S. veitchianum Oenothera cheiranthifolia, Agassizia cheiranthifolia, Camissonia cheiranthifolia, Holostigma cheiranthifolium, Sphaerostigma cheiranthifolium
Name authority (Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 204. (2007) (Hornemann ex Sprengel) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 204. (2007)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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