Jepsonia
jepsonia
(usually appearing in autumn or winter after basal leaves have withered), erect or ascending, leafless, 3–28 cm, stipitate-glandular, slightly viscid.
in basal rosette and cauline;
stipules present;
petiole stipitate-glandular;
blade ovate to suborbiculate or orbiculate-reniform, shallowly lobed, base cordate, ultimate margins crenate with callous-apiculate teeth, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces hairy;
venation palmate.
cymose panicles, (origin of inflorescences not readily resolvable), 2–17-flowered, sometimes flowers solitary, bracteate, (simple or branched distally, glandular-viscid or glabrate).
heterostylous;
hypanthium free from ovary except at base, yellow-green to pinkish;
sepals 5, yellow-green to pinkish;
petals 5, white, veins prominently colored, (spatulate to elliptic, glabrous);
nectary tissue not visible;
stamens 10;
filaments subulate, (alternate ones surpassing sepals);
ovary superior, 2-locular, carpels connate to middle;
placentation axile (appearing marginal);
styles 2;
stigmas 2.
folliclelike, 2-beaked.
brownish, irregular in outline with pinched, curved base, reticulate with longitudinal wings or ridges.
= 7.
Jepsonia
Species 3 (3 in the flora).
Jepsonia is characterized by heterostylous flowers that are produced in the autumn after summer drought; some flowers have long styles and short stamens; others have short styles and long stamens. The floral differences associated with heterostyly within populations in this genus are part of an incompatibility mechanism that prevents self-fertilization. Leaves appear after flowering and persist through the winter if moisture is available. Rarely, leaves and flowers are present simultaneously. All three species of Jepsonia also produce a secondary taproot each year. This structure begins to grow after seasonal rains and shrivels before flowering begins. It apparently acts as a contractile root. The three species in this genus are narrow allopatric endemics.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Caudices unbranched, ovoid to spheric; leaves 1(-3); inflorescences 1-5(-10)-flowered; hypanthia 2+ times sepals; sw California, n Baja California. | J. parryi |
1. Caudices branched, ovoid or flat; leaves 2-3; inflorescences (3-)4-17(-25)-flowered; hypanthia ± equaling or to 1.5 times sepals; Sierra Nevada foothills or Channel Islands | → 2 |
2. Peduncles pink or reddish, branched near middle; petals withering; pollen bluish or cream; seeds light brown. | J. heterandra |
2. Peduncles greenish or olive, branched distally; petals persistent; pollen yellowish; seeds dark brown. | J. malvifolia |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
