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golden suncup

beeblossom, browneyes

Habit Herbs stout, somewhat succulent, usually unbranched distally, usually densely villous, usually also strigillose. Herbs,usually annual, sometimes perennial, rarely biennial, usually caulescent.
Stems

ascending to erect, usually branched.

Leaves

basal and cauline, cauline often reduced, basal often forming well-developed rosette, alternate;

stipules absent; long-petiolate;

blade often pinnately (rarely bipinnately) lobed, sometimes unlobed, or lateral lobes greatly reduced or absent, terminal lobe usually large, margins usually regularly or irregularly dentate to serrate, sometimes denticulate, serrulate, or entire, abaxial surface or margin with ± conspicuous, usually brown, oil cells.

Inflorescences

racemes, erect or nodding.

Flowers

buds not individually reflexed, with subapical free tips 1–2 mm;

floral tube yellow inside, 4–8 mm;

petals usually without red dots at base, fading yellow to orange, 6–18 mm;

anthers 4–6 mm.

bisexual, actinomorphic, buds usually erect, sometimes reflexed;

floral tube deciduous (with sepals, petals, and stamens after anthesis), with basal nectary;

sepals 4, reflexed singly;

petals 4, usually yellow or white, often fading orange-red, sometimes lavender or purple, rarely cream, often with 1+ red dots near base;

stamens usually 8, in 2 subequal series, rarely 4 in 1 series (usually in C. exilis), anthers versatile, pollen shed singly or in tetrads;

ovary 4-locular, stigma usually entire and capitate, rarely conical-peltate and ± 4-lobed, surface unknown, probably wet and non-papillate.

Fruit

a capsule, straight or slightly curved, subterete and clavate or oblong-cylindrical, regularly loculicidal;

pedicellate.

Capsules

20–92 mm;

pedicel 5–20 mm.

Seeds

numerous, in 2 rows per locule, lenticular to narrowly ovoid to narrowly obovoid, finely pitted, with ± pronounced membranous margin when immature.

xI> = 7.

2n

= 14.

Chylismia brevipes subsp. brevipes

Chylismia

Phenology Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Hillsides, alluvial fans, sandy slopes.
Elevation -70–2100 m. (-200–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
w United States; nw Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies brevipes occurs in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts from southern Esmeralda County, Nevada, and southwestern Washington County, Utah, south to northern Yuma County, Arizona, and northern Imperial County, California. It intergrades with subsp. pallidula and hybridizes with Chylismia claviformis subspp. claviformis and integrior, as well as C. multijuga and C. munzii.

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

Species 16 (16 in the flora).

Chylismia is distinguished from other genera formerly included in Camissonia by straight to arcuate (never twisted or curled) capsules on distinct pedicels and seeds in 2 rows per locule. R. A. Levin et al. (2004) included only one species each from Camissonia sects. Chylismia and Lignothera; the two formed a moderately supported branch, which led W. L. Wagner et al. (2007) to recognize Chylismia as a distinct genus. Chylismia is strongly supported in a sister relationship to the realigned Oenothera. This clade is in turn sister to Eulobus. Reproductive features include: self-incompatible (C. brevipes, C. claviformis, C. multijuga, C. munzii, and probably C. confertiflora, C. eastwoodiae, and C. parryi; P. H. Raven 1962, 1969) or self-compatible; flowers diurnal, outcrossing and pollinated by mostly oligolectic bees or autogamous, or opening one to two hours before sunset (in one subspecies of C. claviformis and the two species of sect. Lignothera); the evening-opening subspecies of C. claviformis pollinated mostly by oligolectic bees and moths, C. cardiophylla mainly by small moths, and C. arenaria, with its long floral tubes, by hawkmoths (E. G. Linsley et al. 1963, 1963b, 1964). Most species are diploid (2n = 14) but there are occasional tetraploids (2n = 28); floating translocations are relatively common (Raven 1962, 1969).

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

Key
1. Floral tubes 0.4–9 mm; pollen shed singly; leaves basal and cauline, usually with well-developed basal rosettes, blades usually pinnately or bipinnately lobed, lateral lobes sometimes greatly reduced or absent; plants usually annual, sometimes perennial, rarely biennial.
sect. Chylismia
1. Floral tubes 4.5–40 mm; pollen shed in tetrads; leaves cauline, blades unlobed; plants usually perennial, sometimes annual.
sect. Lignothera
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10. Author: Warren L. Wagner.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Chylismia > sect. Chylismia > Chylismia brevipes Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae
Sibling taxa
C. brevipes subsp. arizonica, C. brevipes subsp. pallidula
Subordinate taxa
C. sect. Chylismia, C. sect. Lignothera
Synonyms Oenothera divaricata Oenothera, Camissonia section chylismia, Oenothera section chylismia, Oenothera subg. chylismia
Name authority unknown (Torrey & A. Gray) Nuttall ex Raimann in H. G. A. Engler and K. Prantl: Nat. Pflanzenfam. 96[III,7]: 217. (1893)
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