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

golden suncup, Mojave suncup, yellow cups

Habit Herbs annual, densely villous and strigillose, glandular puberulent on distal parts. Herbs annual, moderately to densely villous, sometimes strigillose.
Stems

well branched, 15–50 cm.

branched, 3–75 cm.

Leaves

in well-developed basal rosette and also cauline, 7–20 × 1.5–2.5 cm;

petiole 1–4(–8) cm;

blade pinnately lobed, terminal lobe oblanceolate to narrowly ovate, 2.5–5 × 1–2.5 cm, margins irregularly dentate, oil cells on abaxial surface inconspicuous.

primarily in basal rosette, cauline greatly reduced when present, 6–14 × 1.5–3.5 cm;

petiole 1.5–4(–11) cm;

blade pinnately lobed or lateral lobes greatly reduced or absent, often mixed on same plant, terminal lobe usually ovate, rarely elliptic, 2.5–6.9 × 1.5–7 cm, margins irregularly dentate, oil cells on abaxial surface inconspicuous.

Racemes

nodding, dense, mostly elongating after flowers open.

nodding, mostly elongating after flowers.

Flowers

opening at sunrise;

buds with conspicuous, subapical free tips 1–2 mm;

floral tube 3–5 mm, short-villous inside proximally;

sepals 9–12 mm;

petals bright yellow, with red dots at base, fading lavender, 12–18 mm;

stamens unequal, filaments of antisepalous stamens 6–8 mm, those of antipetalous ones 4–5 mm, anthers 4–6 mm, ciliate;

style 11–18 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

opening at sunrise;

buds sometimes individually reflexed, without free tips or with subapical free tips 1–2 mm, or with minute, apical free tips less than 1 mm;

floral tube 3–8 mm, densely short-villous inside proximally;

sepals 5–9 mm;

petals bright yellow, sometimes with red dots at base, fading yellow to orange or reddish, 3–18 mm;

stamens subequal, filaments 3–6 mm, anthers 2.5–6 mm, ciliate;

style 10–18 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

ascending or spreading, oblong-cylindrical, immature capsule to 35 mm;

pedicel 5–15 mm.

ascending or spreading, oblong-cylindrical, 18–92 mm;

pedicel 2–20 mm.

Seeds

not known.

1–1.5 mm.

Chylismia confertiflora

Chylismia brevipes

Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Cinder soil.
Elevation 1300–1400 m. (4300–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ
[BONAP county map]
sw United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Chylismia confertiflora is known only from the type locality on the east side and base of Vulcan’s Throne, Toroweap Valley, Grand Canyon National Monument in Mohave County. P. H. Raven (1962, 1969) assumed this species to be self-incompatible, based on the large flowers with the stigma elevated above the anthers.

A. Cronquist et al. (1997c) treated Chylismia confertiflora as part of C. brevipes, with a comment about the capsule dimensions, and indicated they consider the differences to be one end of the spectrum of a variation within C. brevipes. Although known from very few collections and sparse field data, P. H. Raven (1962, 1969) considered it to be distinct and to be most closely related to C. brevipes and to C. multijuga. He distinguished it from the latter by its larger flowers, nodding inflorescences, and large buds; and from the former by its glandular puberulent sepals, unequal stamens, and uniformly branched habit. In addition, the very restricted range of C. confertiflora is outside (to the east) of the range of C. brevipes. Chylismia multijuga grows within a few miles of the only know locality, but in this area C. confertiflora is very distinct from that species. Further collections and more detailed study of the overall morphological patterns as well as, perhaps, molecular data may clarify whether this is best considered to be an extremely restricted distinct species or a somewhat distinct outlier of the variable C. brevipes.

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

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

P. H. Raven (1962, 1969) determined this species to be self-incompatible.

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

Key
1. Flower buds individually reflexed; petals often fading reddish, 3–8 mm.
subsp. arizonica
1. Flower buds not individually reflexed; petals fading yellow to orange, 6–18 mm.
→ 2
2. Plants stout, villous; buds with subapical free tips 1–2 mm; petals usually without red dots at base.
subsp. brevipes
2. Plants slender, usually strigillose, sometimes also villous proximally; buds with apical free tips 0–1 mm; petals often with red dots near base.
subsp. pallidula
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Chylismia > sect. Chylismia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Chylismia > sect. Chylismia
Sibling taxa
C. arenaria, C. atwoodii, C. brevipes, C. cardiophylla, C. claviformis, C. eastwoodiae, C. exilis, C. heterochroma, C. megalantha, C. multijuga, C. munzii, C. parryi, C. scapoidea, C. specicola, C. walkeri
C. arenaria, C. atwoodii, C. cardiophylla, C. claviformis, C. confertiflora, C. eastwoodiae, C. exilis, C. heterochroma, C. megalantha, C. multijuga, C. munzii, C. parryi, C. scapoidea, C. specicola, C. walkeri
Subordinate taxa
C. brevipes subsp. arizonica, C. brevipes subsp. brevipes, C. brevipes subsp. pallidula
Synonyms Oenothera confertiflorap., Camissonia confertiflora Oenothera brevipes, Camissonia brevipes
Name authority (P. H. Raven) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 207. (2007) (A. Gray) Small: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 23: 194. (1896) — (as Chylisma)
Web links