Flora of North America species comparison

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Hesperolinon spergulinum

slender dwarf-flax, slender western flax, slender western or dwarf flax
Habit Herbs, 10–30(–50) cm, glabrous or glabrate; branches from distal nodes, alternate, widely spreading.
Leaves

alternate;

stipular glands absent or minute;

blade linear or narrowly oblong, 10–35 × 0.5–2(–2.5) mm, base flat, not clasping, margins without stalked glands.
Inflorescences

cymes monochasial (helicoid), open, internodes long, flowers widely scattered;

bract margins without prominent glands.
Pedicels

5–15(–25) mm, 5–25 mm in fruit, pendent in bud, deflexed at 90° angle, slightly bent at apex.
Flowers

sepals erect, not reflexed at tip, ovate, 1.5–2.5(–3.5) mm, equal, margins minutely gland-toothed, surfaces glabrous;

petals widely spreading to reflexed, white or pale pink, usually darker-veined, obovate, 4–7 mm, apex obtuse;

cup white, rim petal attachments in indentations;

stamens exserted;

filaments (3–)4–5(–7) mm;

anthers pink to red-purple, white-margined, dehisced anthers 1.2–2 mm;

ovary chambers 6;

styles 3, white, 3.5–7 mm, exserted.
2n

= 36.

Hesperolinon spergulinum
Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Chaparral or woodland margins, serpentine soils.
Elevation 100–1000 m. (300–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hesperolinon spergulinum occurs in the central and southern North Coast Ranges; there are historical reports from Santa Clara County. The pendent buds, a result of the deflexed and sometimes downward-curved pedicel, and the relatively long styles and stamens are distinctive. The petal appendages are relatively well developed in H. spergulinum; the ligule may be as large as 1 mm and hairy.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 398.
Parent taxa Linaceae > Hesperolinon
Sibling taxa
H. adenophyllum, H. bicarpellatum, H. breweri, H. californicum, H. clevelandii, H. congestum, H. didymocarpum, H. disjunctum, H. drymarioides, H. micranthum, H. sharsmithiae, H. tehamense
Synonyms Linum spergulinum
Name authority (A. Gray) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 25: 86. (1907)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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