Camissoniopsis intermedia

Herbs annual, appearing green­ish, moderately villous, often also glan­dular puber­ulent on stems distally and on inflo­rescences. Stems erect, usually with 1+ ascending branches from basal rosette, 30–60 cm. Leaves 1–12 × 0.2–1.7 cm; petiole 0–1 cm, distal ones sessile; blade lanceolate to narrowly ovate, base cuneate to truncate, basal and proximal cauline often attenuate, margins denticulate, apex acute. Flowers opening near sunrise; floral tube 1.2–2 mm; sepals 1–2.5 mm; petals yellow, with 1 or 2 red dots basally, 1.5–3.5(–4.5) mm; episepalous filaments 0.8–1.5 mm, epipetalous filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.4–0.5 mm, less than 5% of pollen grains 4- or 5-pored; style 2–3.5 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis. Capsules straight or 1-coiled spiral, subterete in living material, 4-angled when dry, 13–25 × 1.1–1.2 mm. Seeds 0.7–1.1 mm. 2n = 28.

Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jun(–Sep).
Habitat: Disturbed brushy slopes, on burns.
Elevation: (150–)300–800 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Calif., Mexico (Baja California).

Discussion

Camissoniopsis intermedia occurs from Lake and Yolo counties (where rare) south in the Coast Ranges of California to the western San Gabriel Mountains, western Riverside and San Diego counties, and south in Baja California to the south end of the Sierra San Miguel; also on Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz islands. P. H. Raven (1969) determined C. intermedia to be self-compatible and primarily autogamous. The species is apparently a tetraploid derived via hybridization between two diploid (2n = 14) species, C. hirtella and C. micrantha.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.