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Okanagan fameflower, Okanogan fameflower, Okanogan talinum

fameflower, flameflower

Habit Plants to 1 dm; roots elongate, fleshily woody. Herbs, perennial, caulescent (subscapose in P. humilis), glabrous.
Roots

sometimes tuberous, fleshy to woody.

Stems

spreading to ascending, branching, bearing ± persistent, arcuate, bristlelike, less than 5 mm, proximal portions of midribs of old leaves, suffrutescent.

ascending to erect, simple or branching, sometimes suffrutescent.

Leaves

sessile;

blade subterete, to 1.2 cm, base attenuate.

alternate or subopposite, sometimes subrosulate, petiolate or sessile, articulate at base, not clasping but sometimes with auriculate, membranous to chartaceous basal enations, attachment point round;

blade terete, semiterete, or narrowly planate, 1–3 (10–20 in P. aurantiacus) mm wide, succulent (semisucculent in P. aurantiacus, P. sediformis, and P. spinescens).

Inflorescences

cymose, overtopping leaves;

peduncle somewhat scapelike or not, to 5 cm.

lateral and/or terminal (lateral sometimes appearing terminal due to congestion of leaves on very short stems), cymose or cymulose, not appearing secund, few- to many-flowered, or flowers solitary and axillary;

peduncle very short to elongate, sometimes scapelike.

Flowers

sepals deciduous, ovate, to 4 mm;

petals white, sometimes tinged pink or pale yellow, obovate to suborbiculate, to 8 mm;

stamens 15;

stigma 1, subcapitate.

pedicellate (sometimes subsessile or sessile in P. parviflorus), each opening for 2–4 hours from afternoon to early evening of a single day, sometimes facultatively cleistogamous;

sepals promptly deciduous after anthesis or persistent through capsule development, distinct;

petals fugacious, 5 or rarely more, distinct or sometimes basally connate;

stamens 4–many, distinct or with filaments basally shortly coherent in several clusters, anther 2-locular, oblong (subglobose in P. rugospermus);

gynoecium 3[–5]-carpelled, placentention free-central;

style 1 [absent];

stigmas 1 or 3[–5].

Capsules

subglobose, trigonous, to 4 mm.

longitudinally dehiscent from apex, 3-valved;

valves deciduous, erect, exocarp and endocarp not evidently differentiated and not separating.

Seeds

without arcuate ridges, 1 mm.

many, black or brown, ± compressed, with or without ± parallel, arcuate ridges, estrophiolate, circular-reniform, small;

seed coat lustrous, smooth (corrugate-rugulose in P. rugospermus), covered with pale white or gray, thin, dull, fleshy to chartaceous pellicle.

x

= 12.

Phemeranthus sediformis

Phemeranthus

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Slopes, ledges, rocky soil
Elevation 1000-2000 m (3300-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
North America; Central America; South America
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Phemeranthus sediformis is poorly known and merits further study in the field and better representation in herbaria. When its characters and their ranges of variation are better known, it may prove to be indistinct from P. spinescens.

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

Species 25–30 (16 in the flora).

C. S. Rafinesque (1814b) transferred Pursh’s Talinum teretifolium, which had been described earlier that year and was the only North American species then attributed to that primarily Old World genus, to the segregate genus Phemeranthus. Since then, though, most other authors have continued to recognize that species within Talinum, along with other similar and exclusively New World taxa described subsequently, as sect. Phemeranthus. However, a fairly strongly correlated set of differences in the leaf, pollen, fruit, and seed structures of these species compared with those of sect. Talinum, only two species of which are found in North America, supports their recognition at the generic level (R. Carolin 1987, 1993; M. A. Hershkovitz 1993). Complementary to the morphological evidence, recent molecular studies (M. A. Hershkovitz and E. A. Zimmer 1997, 2000; W. L. Applequist and R. S. Wallace 2001) indicate that Phemeranthus is phylogenetically distinct from Talinum.

Positive identification of Phemeranthus specimens often requires examination of both flower and fruit, including seeds (with hand lens). Fortunately, the flowers develop successively and the capsules mature rapidly after anthesis, so both flowers and fruits will be present on a given plant during most of the reproductive season.

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

Key
1. Petals yellow, orange, or reddish or pinkish orange
→ 2
1. Petals white, pink, or purplish (sometimes tinged pale yellow in P. sediformis)
→ 4
2. Flowers usually solitary, sometimes 2-3-flowered cymules in leaf axils
P. aurantiacus
2. Flowers in cymes borne on scapelike peduncles
→ 3
3. Leaves sessile, not appearing petiolate
P. humilis
3. Leaves sessile but appearing petiolate
P. marginatus
4. Seeds with arcuate ridges
P. longipes
4. Seeds without arcuate ridges
→ 5
5. Seeds corrugate-rugulose
P. rugospermus
5. Seeds smooth
→ 6
6. Stamens usually 5
P. parviflorus
6. Stamens usually 7 or more
→ 7
7. Stigmas 3
P. brevifolius
7. Stigma 1
→ 8
8. Stems bearing persistent midribs of old leaves
→ 9
8. Stems not bearing persistent midribs of old leaves
→ 10
9. Persistent midribs ± straight, spinelike, 5 mm or more
P. spinescens
9. Persistent midribs arcuate, bristlelike, less than 5 mm
P. sediformis
10. Sepals deciduous after anthesis
→ 11
10. Sepals persistent through capsule development
→ 12
11. Petals 9-15 mm; stamens 40 or more
P. mengesii
11. Petals 5-7 mm; stamens 12-20
P. teretifolius
12. Stamens fewer than 20
→ 13
12. Stamens usually 20 or more
→ 14
13. Peduncles 1 cm or shorter; capsules ellipsoid
P. thompsonii
13. Peduncles longer than 1 cm; capsules ovoid
P. validulus
14. Peduncles not scapelike, shorter than 2 cm
P. brevicaulis
14. Peduncles scapelike, much longer than 2 cm
→ 15
15. Sepals 3-4 mm; petals 8-10 mm
P. calcaricus
15. Sepals 4-6 mm; petals 10-15 mm
P. calycinus
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 494. FNA vol. 4, p. 488. Author: Robert W. Kiger.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Phemeranthus Portulacaceae
Sibling taxa
P. aurantiacus, P. brevicaulis, P. brevifolius, P. calcaricus, P. calycinus, P. humilis, P. longipes, P. marginatus, P. mengesii, P. parviflorus, P. rugospermus, P. spinescens, P. teretifolius, P. thompsonii, P. validulus
Subordinate taxa
P. aurantiacus, P. brevicaulis, P. brevifolius, P. calcaricus, P. calycinus, P. humilis, P. longipes, P. marginatus, P. mengesii, P. parviflorus, P. rugospermus, P. sediformis, P. spinescens, P. teretifolius, P. thompsonii, P. validulus
Synonyms Talinum sediforme, Talinum okanoganense, Talinum wayae Talinum section P.
Name authority (Poellnitz) Kiger: Novon 11: 320. (2001) Rafinesque: Specchio Sci. 1: 86. (1814)
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