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beach evening-primrose, beach suncup

Santa Lucia sun cup

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

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

erect or ascending, 20–50 cm.

Leaves

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.

1.3–5.5 × 1.2–2.5 cm;

sessile;

blade lanceolate to narrowly oblong, base rounded or truncate, sometimes cuneate, margins sparsely denticulate, apex acuminate to, sometimes, rounded.

Flowers

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.

opening near sunrise;

floral tube 2–3 mm;

sepals 2.5–4.5 mm;

petals yellow, with 1 red dot basally, 4–7 mm, sometimes with a tooth arising from emarginate apex; episepalous filaments 4-pored;

s2–6 mm, epipetalous filaments 0.8–1.6 mm, anthers 0.4–1 mm, 25–60% of pollen grains tyle 3–6 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

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

straight or 1.5–2+-coiled spiral, subterete in living material, obscurely 4-angled when dry, 15–20 × 1.3–2 mm.

Seeds

1.2–1.3 mm.

1.3–1.5 mm.

2n

= 42.

Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia

Camissoniopsis luciae

Phenology Flowering Apr–May(–Jul).
Habitat Openings in chaparral.
Elevation 300–1400 m. (1000–4600 ft.)
Distribution
w United States; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Camissoniopsis luciae is known from the Santa Lucia Mountains, Monterey County, and scattered southward to San Benito, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties. P. H. Raven (1969) determined C. luciae to be self-compatible and primarily autogamous. The species is a hexaploid that parallels the widespread diploid C. hirtella in the variable notching of its petals. Presumably, it has been derived from the tetraploid C. intermedia (2n = 28) and the diploid C. hirtella (2n = 14), but it is rather easily separated from both by the absence of glandular hairs in the inflorescence, relatively large flowers, and pollen characteristics.

(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. bistorta, 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. cheiranthifolia, C. confusa, C. guadalupensis, C. hardhamiae, C. hirtella, C. ignota, C. intermedia, C. lewisii, C. micrantha, C. pallida, C. robusta
Subordinate taxa
C. cheiranthifolia subsp. cheiranthifolia, C. cheiranthifolia subsp. suffruticosa
Synonyms Oenothera cheiranthifolia, Agassizia cheiranthifolia, Camissonia cheiranthifolia, Holostigma cheiranthifolium, Sphaerostigma cheiranthifolium Camissonia luciae
Name authority (Hornemann ex Sprengel) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 204. (2007) (P. H. Raven) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 205. (2007)
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