Gayophytum diffusum |
Gayophytum oligospermum |
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diffuse groundsmoke, spreading groundsmoke |
pinegrove gayophytum, pinegrove groundsmoke |
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Habit | Herbs usually glabrous to strigillose, sometimes villous. | Herbs glabrous or very sparsely strigillose distally. | ||||
Stems | erect, branched or unbranched near base, much branched distally, usually with 1 or 2 nodes between branches, distal branching dichotomous or lateral branches shortened, 5–60 cm. |
erect, usually unbranched near base, branched at each of several nodes proximal to first flower, less branched distally, branching dichotomous, 20–70 cm. |
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Leaves | reduced distally, 10–60 × 1–5 mm; petiole 0–10 mm; blade very narrowly lanceolate. |
much reduced distally, 10–60 × 1–4 mm; petiole 0–10 mm; blade very narrowly lanceolate to sublinear. |
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Inflorescences | with flowers arising usually as proximally as first 1–20 nodes from base. |
with flowers arising usually as proximally as first 10–20 nodes from base. |
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Flowers | sepals 0.9–3(–5) mm, reflexed singly or in pairs; petals 1.2–5(–7) mm; pollen 90–100% fertile; stigma hemispheric to subglobose, exserted beyond anthers of longer stamens or surrounded by them at anthesis. |
sepals 1–1.4 mm, reflexed singly or in pairs; petals 1.5–2.5 mm; pollen 90–100% fertile; stigma subglobose, surrounded by anthers at anthesis. |
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Capsules | ascending to reflexed, subterete, 3–15 × 1–1.5 mm, with inconspicuous or conspicuous constrictions between seeds, valve margins somewhat undulate, all valves free from septum after dehiscence, septum straight or sinuous; pedicel 2–10(–15) mm, usually shorter than capsule. |
ascending to strongly reflexed, subterete, 4–9 × 0.9–1 mm, with conspicuous constrictions between seeds, valve margins undulate, all valves free from septum after dehiscence, septum sinuous; pedicel 3–11 mm, usually about equal to capsule. |
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Seeds | (3–)6–18, all or most developing, arranged ± parallel to septum and in alternating pattern between locules, crowded, overlapping, often appearing to form 2 irregular rows in each locule, or well spaced, forming a single row in capsule, brown, sometimes mottled with gray, 1–1.6 × 0.5–0.8 mm, glabrous or puberulent. |
usually 3–6, all developing, arranged± parallel to septum and in alternating pattern between locules, adjacent seeds not overlapping, well spaced from each, forming a single row in capsule, brown, sometimes mottled with darker spots, 1.3–1.7 × 0.6–0.8 mm, glabrous. |
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2n | = 28. |
= 14. |
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Gayophytum diffusum |
Gayophytum oligospermum |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | |||||
Habitat | Open pine forests. | |||||
Elevation | 1300–2800 m. (4300–9200 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
w North America; n Mexico
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CA
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Gayophytumdiffusum consists of a diverse assemblage of tetraploid populations, some of which are similar to every known diploid species except G. humile. The combination of characteristics of at least five diploid species in various ways suggests that the complex is derived from several independently formed allopolyploids that subsequently hybridized and segregated to produce the observed diversity. Populations of Gayophytum diffusum differ in breeding behavior. Populations with relatively large flowers and stigmas that extend beyond the anthers are obviously outcrossing, whereas most populations are small-flowered and modally self-pollinated. It is among the latter that the greatest morphological diversity is found. Often two or more morphologically different, apparently true-breeding strains can be found growing together. In such a variable complex, recognition of infraspecific taxa becomes arbitrary. In this treatment the striking morphological differences associated with breeding behavior have been used as a basis for subspecies recognition. At some localities the two subspecies intergrade. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Gayophytum oligospermum is known only from Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties in southern California. Gayophytum oligospermum is morphologically similar to G. heterozygum and has been shown to have chromosomes that pair completely with one of the two arrangements that make up the genome of the complex heterozygote G. heterozygum, indicating that G. oligospermum is one of the parents of G. heterozygum or that it is derived from G. heterozygum (L. B. Thien 1969). Gayophytum oligospermum has been reported from the summit of Breckenridge Mountain, Kern County, from a single collection (Charlton 3750, UCR). This record needs to be verified. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 10. | FNA vol. 10. | ||||
Parent taxa | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Gayophytum | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Gayophytum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 513. (1840) | H. Lewis & Szweykowski: Brittonia 16: 375, figs. 5J, 13A. (1964) | ||||
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