The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

white-margin starry puncturebract, white-margined oxytheca

starry puncturebract

Habit Plants 0.3–3 × 0.3–5 dm. Herbs, annual; taproots slender.
Stems

spreading to prostrate.

arising directly from the root, spreading or prostrate, sometimes erect, solid, not fistulose or disarticulating into ringlike segments, glabrous or sparsely glandular.

Leaves

blades spatulate to oblanceolate, 1.5–7.5 × 0.4–1.5 cm.

persistent or quickly deciduous, basal, rosulate;

petioles indistinct;

blade broadly linear or spatulate to oblanceolate, margins entire, strigose and glandular.

Inflorescences

open, 0.2–3 dm;

bracts mostly 5–10 × 1–3(–5) mm, awns 1–2 mm.

terminal, cymose;

branches mostly dichotomous, not brittle or disarticulating into segments, round, glabrous or sparsely glandular;

bracts (2–)3(–4) at first node, 2–3 at distal nodes, distinct or connate, often positioned to side of node, scalelike, triangular or linear to ovate and 3-lobed, awned, sparsely glandular.

Peduncles

erect, 0.5–3 cm, glandular.

present or absent, erect to spreading.

Involucres

white-margined, broadly funnelform and laterally compressed, 4–8 × 9–12 mm, glabrous;

teeth 5, connate more than 3/4 their length, awns reddish, 1–1.5 mm.

1 per node, not ribbed, tubular, narrowly turbinate to funnelform;

teeth 5(–6), awn-tipped.

Flowers

3–6;

perianth white to pink, (2–)3–4.5(–5) mm;

tepals narrowly oblong, 3–5-lobed apically 1/3–1/2 their length, lobes laciniate;

filaments 3–5 mm;

anthers red, oval to oblong, 1–1.2 mm.

2–5(–10) per involucre at any single time during full anthesis;

perianth white to rose or greenish yellow to red, funnelform when open, tubular when closed, hirsute and sparsely glandular abaxially;

tepals 6, connate 1/4–1/3 their length, monomorphic, 3–5-lobed or laciniate apically;

stamens 9;

filaments basally adnate, glabrous or minutely papillate basally;

anthers red to maroon, ellipsoid or oblong to oval.

Achenes

golden brown, 1.8–2 mm.

usually included, golden- to red-brown, not winged, 3-gonous, glabrous.

Seeds

embryo curved.

x

= 20.

Sidotheca emarginata

Sidotheca

Phenology Flowering Feb–Aug.
Habitat Gravelly to rocky places, chaparral communities, montane coniferous woodlands
Elevation 1200-2500 m (3900-8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sidotheca emarginata grows in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains of Riverside County. The white-margined, papery involucre is a distinctive feature that might make the plant an attractive addition to an annual garden.

of conservation concern

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

Species 3 (3 in the flora).

Sidotheca is allied to Eriogonum subg. Ganysma, approaching E. inerme in terms of foliar and overall habit. The trilobed to laciniate tepals resemble those of certain species of Chorizanthe. It is possible, as B. Ertter (1980) suggested, that the taxon was derived from Acanthoscyphus. In the 1950s, G. J. Goodman (1904–1999) proposed its recognition at generic rank, using the parahomonym “Neoxytheca.”

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

Key
1. Involucres funnelform, white-margined, bracts connate more than 3/ 4 their length; tepals 3-5-lobed apically, lobes laciniate
S. emarginata
1. Involucres narrowly to broadly turbinate, concolored, bracts connate ca. 1/ 2 their length; tepals 3-lobed apically, lobes laciniate or not
→ 2
2. Perianths 1-2 mm, greenish yellow to red; tepals 3-lobed apically 1/ 5 their length; peduncles present or absent; awns of involucral bracts 0.3-1 mm; awns of inflorescence bracts 0.2-0.5 mm
S. caryophylloides
2. Perianths 2.5-4 mm, white to pink; tepals 3-lobed apically 1/ 1/ 2 their length; peduncles present; awns of involucral bracts 0.3-2 mm; awns of inflorescence bracts 0.8-1 mm
S. trilobata
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 440. FNA vol. 5, p. 439. Author: James L. Reveal.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Sidotheca Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae
Sibling taxa
S. caryophylloides, S. trilobata
Subordinate taxa
S. caryophylloides, S. emarginata, S. trilobata
Synonyms Oxytheca emarginata, Eriogonum emarginatum Oxytheca section Neoxytheca
Name authority (H. M. Hall) Reveal: Harvard Pap. Bot. 9: 211. (2004) Reveal: Harvard Pap. Bot. 9: 211. (2004)
Web links