Rhinotropis californica(synonym of Polygala californica) |
Rhinotropis nudata |
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California milkwort, milkwort |
small-flower milkwort |
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Habit | Herbs, sometimes suffrutescent, multi-stemmed, often forming a ground cover, 0.5–3.5 dm. | Subshrubs, multi-stemmed, broomlike, 1.5–4(–5) dm. |
Stems | laxly erect, decumbent, or prostrate, pubescent to subglabrous, hairs incurved. |
usually erect to decumbent or procumbent, usually sparsely pubescent, rarely glabrate, hairs incurved. |
Leaves | sessile or subsessile; blade ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 7–50(–60) × 3–20(–26) mm, base usually rounded to acute, sometimes cuneate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces pubescent, hairs incurved. |
larger ones usually early deciduous; sessile or petiolate, petiole to 1 mm; blade linear, lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, obovate, or scalelike, 1–4(–15) × 0.5–1(–3.7) mm, base cuneate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs incurved. |
Racemes | terminal or leaf-opposed, 1–4(–5) × 1.8–3 cm; rachis not thorn-tipped; peduncle 0–1 cm; bracts early deciduous, linear to lanceolate. |
terminal, often also appearing axillary (from branches proximal to racemes of major branches with vegetative portions highly reduced), 2–10(–15) ×0.8–1.5 cm; rachis not thorn-tipped; peduncle 0–2 cm; bracts persistent, ovate to lanceolate. |
Pedicels | (2.5–)3.5–8.5 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. |
(1.3–)1.6–3.6 mm, usually pubescent, rarely subglabrous. |
Flowers | usually pink, rarely white, keel distally yellow (fading white), (2.5–)9–14.5 mm, cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers mostly 2.5–5 mm, intergrading with chasmogamous flowers; sepals deciduous, elliptic, 4–6.5 mm, pubescent or glabrous; wings obovate, (7.5–)8–12 × 2.5–6 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; keel (7–)8–11 mm, sac glabrous (sometimes proximally ciliate), beak oblong, (1.2–)1.6–3 × 0.7–1 mm (mostly absent in cleistogamous flowers), usually notched or contorted abaxially, rarely subentire, pubescent. |
usually white or cream, often with purplish center stripe, rarely pink, 3–5 mm; upper sepal persistent, others deciduous, ovate to elliptic or obovate, 1.4–3(–3.4) mm, pubescent; wings obovate to elliptic, (2.5–)3–4.6 × (1.2–)1.5–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent; keel (2.2–)2.5–4 mm, sac incurved-puberulent in distal 1/2, beak bluntly rounded to oblong, (0.3–)0.4–1.1 × 0.2–0.5(–0.7) mm, pubescent. |
Capsules | ellipsoid to ovoid, 7.3–10.5 × 4.5–7 mm, in cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers 4.5–8 mm, base obtuse, rounded, or subtruncate, margins with narrow, entire or slightly erose wing, glabrous, margins sometimes ciliolate. |
ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 2.5–4(–4.5) × (2.1–)2.3–3.2(–3.4) mm, base rounded or subtruncate, margins with very narrow and even wing, usually pubescent, sometimes subglabrous proximally. |
Seeds | 3.5–6 mm, densely pubescent; aril 1.7–4 mm, less than 1/2 length of seed. |
2.3–3(–3.4) mm, usually evenly pubescent; aril (0.8–)1–1.6 mm, lobes to 1/2 length of seed. |
Cleistogamous | or semi-cleistogamous flowers often present terminally, on much reduced scale-leaved lateral branches from proximal (or distal) leaf axils, or terminally on leafy branches that are often leaf-opposed. |
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2n | = 18. |
= 18. |
Rhinotropis californica |
Rhinotropis nudata |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering spring–late fall. |
Habitat | Rocky or clay soils, deep duff, rich soils, serpentine soils, slopes or drainages, full sun to deep shade, open habitat, chaparral, mixed evergreen forests, oak woodlands, coniferous forests. | Mostly on limestone, also on gypsum, sandstone, or tuff, rocky slopes in desert scrub, chaparral, or mixed woodlands (pinyon, juniper, or oak). |
Elevation | 10–1400 m. [30–4600 ft.] | 1200–1700 m. [3900–5600 ft.] |
Distribution |
CA; OR
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TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas) |
Discussion | Rhinotropis californica occurs in western California and Oregon. Cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers can appear earlier than chasmogamous flowers. Their flowers, fruits, and seeds are similar to those of chasmogamous flowers, but typically are smaller and without the keel beak. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Rhinotropis nudata occurs in Brewster and Presidio counties. The name Polygala minutifolia Rose was misapplied to this taxon by D. S. Correll and M. C. Johnston (1970). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 10. | FNA vol. 10. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Polygalacalifornica nuttall | Polygalanudata brandegee |
Name authority | (Nuttall) J. R. Abbott: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 5: 134. (2011) | (Brandegee) J. R. Abbott: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 5: 135. (2011) |
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