Flora of North America species comparison

5–60 cm.

ascending to erect, usually branched.

blade lateral lobes usually poorly developed or absent, terminal lobe lanceolate, to 5 × 2.8 cm, margins irregularly serrate-dentate.

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.

racemes, erect or nodding.

usually opening at sunset;

buds usually without free tips, sometimes with apical free tips less than 1 mm;

floral tube orange-brown inside, 3.5–6 mm;

petals bright yellow, sometimes red-dotted in proximal 1/2, fading pale orange, 3.5–7 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.

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

pedicellate.

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

= 14.