The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

hairy sun cup, Santa Cruz Island suncup

pale yellow sun cup

Habit Herbs annual, densely villous throughout, also glandular puberulent distally. Herbs annual, appearing conspicuously grayish, densely strigillose, sometimes also glandular puberulent distally.
Stems

erect, with 1 or more ascending branches from near base, to 60 cm.

usually with decumbent lateral branches from basal rosette, 5–60 cm.

Leaves

1–11 × 0.3–2.1 cm;

petiole 0–5 cm, distal ones 0–0.5 cm;

blade lanceolate to ovate, sometimes elliptic-ovate or ovate distally, base cordate to truncate, sometimes cuneate or attenuate, margins dentate, apex acute.

1–5(–11) × 0.2–0.7(–1.4) cm;

petiole 0–0.2(–0.4) cm, distal ones sessile;

blade lanceolate to narrowly ovate, base often cuneate to truncate, sometimes attenuate, margins sparsely denticulate, apex acute to obtuse.

Flowers

opening near sunrise;

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals 2.5–6 mm;

petals yellow, sometimes red-dotted near base, 2–9 mm, sometimes with a tooth arising from emarginate apex; episepalous filaments 1.2–6 mm, epipetalous filaments 0.5–3 mm, anthers 0.4–1 mm, less than 5% of pollen grains 4- or 5-pored;

style 2–8 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

opening near sunrise;

floral tube 1–4.2 mm;

sepals (1.5–)2.5–8 mm;

petals yellow, sometimes with 1–3 red dots basally, (2–)3.5–13 mm; episepalous filaments (0.5–)1.5–6.5 mm, epipetalous filaments (0.2–)0.5–3.8 mm, anthers (0.4–)0.8–2.2 mm, less than 5% of pollen grains 4- or 5-pored;

style (2.1–)3–10.5 mm, stigma surrounded by at least anthers of longer stamens, often by both sets, at anthesis.

Capsules

1–2-coiled spiral, subterete in living material, 4-angled when dry, 13–20(–25) × 0.7–0.9 mm.

usually 1–3-coiled spiral, subterete in living material, 4-angled when dry, 13–24 × 0.7–1.2 mm.

Seeds

1–1.2 mm.

1–1.5 mm.

2n

= 14.

Camissoniopsis hirtella

Camissoniopsis pallida

Phenology Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jul(–Nov).
Habitat Brushy hills and slopes, on burns.
Elevation 0–2300 m. (0–7500 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 hirtella occurs from Amador and Trinity counties southward in the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada of California to the Sierra de Juárez and Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, usually away from the immediate coast and barely reaching the margins of the desert. P. H. Raven (1969) determined C. hirtella to be self-compatible and primarily autogamous. The species occasionally hybridizes with C. ignota (Raven).

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

P. H. Raven (1969) determined Camissoniopsis pallida to be self-compatible and primarily autogamous.

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

Key
1. Floral tube 1–3 mm; petals (2–)3.5–6(–8) mm; styles (2.1–)3–6.5 mm.
subsp. pallida
1. Floral tube 3.8–4.2 mm; petals 6.5–13 mm; styles 6.5–10.5 mm.
subsp. hallii
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. cheiranthifolia, C. confusa, C. guadalupensis, C. hardhamiae, 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. luciae, C. micrantha, C. robusta
Subordinate taxa
C. pallida subsp. hallii, C. pallida subsp. pallida
Synonyms Oenothera hirtella, Camissonia hirtella, O. hirta var. jonesii, O. micrantha var. hirtella, O. micrantha var. jonesii, O. micrantha var. reedii, Sphaerostigma arenicola, S. bistortum var. reedii, S. hirtellum, S. hirtellum var. montanum, S. micranthum var. jonesii Sphaerostigma pallidum, Camissonia pallida, Oenothera abramsii, O. micrantha var. abramsii
Name authority (Greene) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 204. (2007) (Abrams) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 205. (2007)
Web links