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Mckelvey's beeblossom

Habit Herbs perennial (short-lived or, sometimes, suffrutescent) or annual, glabrous or strigillose; from a stout taproot. Herbs perennial, clumped, long-villous, more sparsely so distally, hairs erect, 2–4 mm, also strigillose, sometimes glabrate distally or also sparsely glandular puberulent; from twisted, woody rootstock.
Stems

1–many, weakly decumbent to ascending or erect, unbranched to moderately branched, (10–)25–80 cm.

ascending, branched below or just above ground, branched also proximal to inflorescences, 30–70(–120) cm.

Leaves

1–9 × (0.1–)0.3–1 cm, sometimes fascicles of small leaves to 2 cm present in non-flowering axils;

petiole 0–0.6 cm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, often folded lengthwise, usually not much reduced distally, proximalmost leaves sometimes spatulate, base attenuate, margins subentire or serrulate or spinulose-serrate, apex acute.

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 3–17 × 0.8–2 cm, blade oblanceolate, cauline 1–6.5 × 0.1–1.5 cm, sessile, blade narrowly oblanceolate to elliptic, margins conspicuously sinuate-dentate, often undulate.

Inflorescences

slender.

Flowers

opening at sunrise;

buds with free tips 0–4 mm;

floral tube 5–20 mm;

sepals 4–12 mm, midribs keeled;

petals yellow, fading orangish to purplish, 6–25 mm; antisepalous filaments 2–8 mm, antipetalous filaments 1–4 mm, anthers 2–7 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;

style 9–30 mm, stigma sometimes blue-black, discoid to quadrangular, exserted beyond anthers.

4-merous, zygomorphic, opening near sunset;

floral tube 2–3.5 mm;

sepals 6–12 mm;

petals white, fading dark pink to red, slightly unequal, elliptic-obovate, 7–11 mm, long-clawed;

stamens presented in lower 1/2 of flower, filaments 5–9 mm, lanate at very base, anthers 2–4 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;

style 9–16 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

10–35 × 1–2 mm, hard, dehiscent 1/2 their length, often tardily dehiscent throughout their length.

reflexed, lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, narrowly 4-winged, 8–19 × 1.5–2 mm, tapering to a sterile stipe 3–9 mm.

Seeds

obovoid, 1–1.8 mm, sharply angled, apex truncate.

(1 or)2–4, 2–3 × 1 mm, yellowish to reddish brown.

2n

= 14.

Oenothera capillifolia

Oenothera mckelveyae

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Sandy soil.
Elevation 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
c United States; sc United States; n Mexico
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Oenothera capillifolia is self-incompatible (H. F. Towner 1977).

Oenothera berlandieri (Spach) Steudel 1841, not D. Dietrich 1840, is superfluous and cannot be used in Oenothera when transferred from Calylophus, and pertains here.

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

Oenothera mckelveyae, on the Rio Grande Plain, is found in an area bounded by from Dimmit and LaSalle counties east to Karnes and Refugio counties in the north, southward through south Texas, extending to northeastern Tamaulipas and adjacent Nuevo León. P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) found Oenothera mckelveyae to be self-incompatible.

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

Key
1. Stems 1–several, ascending to erect, 30–80 cm; leaves 2.5–9 cm.
subsp. capillifolia
1. Stems several–many, decumbent to ascending, (10–)25–40 cm; leaves 1–4 cm.
subsp. berlandieri
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Calylophus > subsect. Calylophus Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Gaura > subsect. Stipogaura
Sibling taxa
O. acutissima, O. albicaulis, O. argillicola, O. arida, O. arizonica, O. biennis, O. boquillensis, O. brachycarpa, O. calcicola, O. californica, O. canescens, O. cavernae, O. cespitosa, O. cinerea, O. clelandii, O. coloradensis, O. cordata, O. coronopifolia, O. coryi, O. curtiflora, O. curtissii, O. deltoides, O. demareei, O. dodgeniana, O. drummondii, O. elata, O. engelmannii, O. falfurriae, O. filiformis, O. filipes, O. flava, O. fruticosa, O. gaura, O. gayleana, O. glaucifolia, O. glazioviana, O. grandiflora, O. grandis, O. harringtonii, O. hartwegii, O. havardii, O. heterophylla, O. hispida, O. howardii, O. humifusa, O. jamesii, O. kunthiana, O. laciniata, O. lavandulifolia, O. lindheimeri, O. linifolia, O. longissima, O. macrocarpa, O. mckelveyae, O. mexicana, O. nealleyi, O. neomexicana, O. nutans, O. nuttallii, O. oakesiana, O. organensis, O. pallida, O. parviflora, O. patriciae, O. perennis, O. pilosella, O. platanorum, O. podocarpa, O. primiveris, O. psammophila, O. pubescens, O. rhombipetala, O. riparia, O. rosea, O. serrulata, O. sessilis, O. simulans, O. sinuosa, O. spachiana, O. speciosa, O. stricta, O. suffrutescens, O. suffulta, O. tetraptera, O. texensis, O. toumeyi, O. triangulata, O. triloba, O. tubicula, O. villosa, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
O. acutissima, O. albicaulis, O. argillicola, O. arida, O. arizonica, O. biennis, O. boquillensis, O. brachycarpa, O. calcicola, O. californica, O. canescens, O. capillifolia, O. cavernae, O. cespitosa, O. cinerea, O. clelandii, O. coloradensis, O. cordata, O. coronopifolia, O. coryi, O. curtiflora, O. curtissii, O. deltoides, O. demareei, O. dodgeniana, O. drummondii, O. elata, O. engelmannii, O. falfurriae, O. filiformis, O. filipes, O. flava, O. fruticosa, O. gaura, O. gayleana, O. glaucifolia, O. glazioviana, O. grandiflora, O. grandis, O. harringtonii, O. hartwegii, O. havardii, O. heterophylla, O. hispida, O. howardii, O. humifusa, O. jamesii, O. kunthiana, O. laciniata, O. lavandulifolia, O. lindheimeri, O. linifolia, O. longissima, O. macrocarpa, O. mexicana, O. nealleyi, O. neomexicana, O. nutans, O. nuttallii, O. oakesiana, O. organensis, O. pallida, O. parviflora, O. patriciae, O. perennis, O. pilosella, O. platanorum, O. podocarpa, O. primiveris, O. psammophila, O. pubescens, O. rhombipetala, O. riparia, O. rosea, O. serrulata, O. sessilis, O. simulans, O. sinuosa, O. spachiana, O. speciosa, O. stricta, O. suffrutescens, O. suffulta, O. tetraptera, O. texensis, O. toumeyi, O. triangulata, O. triloba, O. tubicula, O. villosa, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
Subordinate taxa
O. capillifolia subsp. berlandieri, O. capillifolia subsp. capillifolia
Synonyms Meriolix capillifolia Gaura villosa var. mckelveyae, Gaura mckelveyae
Name authority Scheele: Linnaea 21: 576. (1848) (Munz) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 213. (2007)
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