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California primrose, California suncup

Habit Herbs sparsely strigillose, sometimes also sparsely glandular puberulent, especially on leaves and inflorescences.
Stems

erect, virgate, bluish green and often glaucescent, or bright green, thick, hollow, fleshy, 2–180 cm.

Leaves

in a well-defined basal rosette, usually withered by anthesis, and also cauline;

basal 2.5–10(–30) × 0.6–2.5(–6.5) cm, petiole 0–6 cm, blade narrowly elliptic, margins irregularly pinnatifid;

cauline very much reduced distally, 1–8 × (0.1–)0.3–1(–1.6) cm, petiole 0–3 cm, blade narrowly elliptic, margins irregularly pinnatifid.

Flowers

opening at sunrise;

floral tube 0.6–1.5 mm, closed by a conspicuous rounded, fleshy, reddish brown disc;

sepals reddish green, 3.9–8 mm;

petals ± with fine, red flecking at base, 6–14 mm; episepalous filaments 3–9 mm, epipetalous filaments 2–5 mm, anthers of longer stamens 1–2.5 mm, those of shorter stamens 0.5–1.2 mm;

style 4–10 mm, stigma globose, 0.8–2 mm diam., surrounded by anthers of longer stamens at anthesis.

Capsules

sharply reflexed at maturity, cylindrical fresh, 4-angled dry, (45–)60–110 × 1–1.2 mm.

Seeds

olive brown, often flecked with purple dots, 1.3–1.6 × 0.5–0.7 mm.

2n

= 14, 28.

Eulobus californicus

Phenology Flowering Dec–May.
Habitat Open places in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, desert scrub, valley grasslands, foot­hill woodlands, washes, flats, loose soils.
Elevation 0–1300 m. (0–4300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eulobus californicus is known from western and southern Arizona, central and southern California, as well as from adjacent areas of northwestern Mexico.

P. H. Raven (1969) determined that Eulobus californicus is self-compatible and primarily autogamous. Known diploid (2n = 14) populations are all in California.

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

Source FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Eulobus
Synonyms Camissonia californica, Oenothera leptocarpa
Name authority Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 515. (1840)
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