Velezia rigida
Sp. Pl. 1: 332. 1753.
IntroducedIllustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 166.
Stems green to purplish, with widely divergent or dichotomous branches, 7–40 cm, rigid, glandular-hairy at least distally. Leaf blades 0.5–2 cm, margins scarious near base, ciliate. Pedicels 1.5–3.5 mm. Flowers: calyx tube 10–14 × 0.8–1 mm, lobes 1–1.2 mm, base swollen, hardened; petals narrowly obovate, 11–16 mm, coronal appendages 0.4–0.6 mm. Capsules with rounded tip; carpophore 0.2–0.7 mm. Seeds in 1 row, with abrupt but round point, 1.3–1.8 mm. 2n = 28 (Europe).
Phenology: Flowering spring–early summer.
Habitat: Oak and pine woodlands, open ridges, gravelly streambeds, serpentine areas
Elevation: 50-800 m
Distribution
Introduced; Calif., Europe (Mediter-ranean region), sw, c Asia, Africa (Mediterranean region).
Discussion
Velezia rigida is now known from at least eight counties in northern California; it was first collected in North America in 1896 (Jepson s.n., JEPS).
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.