Camissonia minor (A.Nelson) P.H.Raven
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Authority
Raven, Peter H. 1969. A revision of the genus Camissonia (Onagraceae). Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 37: 161-396.
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Family
Onagraceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type: Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, 31 May 1897, A. Nelson 3047 (RM; isotypes, GH, NY, US).
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Description
Description - Erect, flowering from the base, and often well branched from below, the stems 3-30 cm. long; plants densely strigulose, often grayish, the inflorescence often with a more or less evident admixture of glandular trichomes. Leaves oblanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, the blades of the basal leaves 0.5-2.5 cm. long, 0.3-1.5 cm. wide, the petioles 5-20 mm. long; leaves acuminate at the apex, attenuate at the base. Inflorescence erect. Hypanthium 0.5-1.9 mm. long, 0.5-1.2 mm. across at the summit, pubescent in lower half within. Sepals 0.8-1.8 mm. long, 0.35-0.7 mm. wide. Petals 0.8-1.3 mm. long, 0.4-1.3 mm. wide. Filaments 0.3-1.3 mm. long, the epipetalous ones shorter than the episepalous ones and sometimes apparently abortive; anthers 0.5-0.8 mm. long. Style 1.2-3.2 mm. long, pubescent near the base; stigma 0.5-0.6 mm. thick, surrounded by the anthers at anthesis. Capsule contorted, 1-2.5 cm. long, 0.8-1.2 mm. thick, subterete, not tapering sharply. Seeds monomorphic, 1.1-1.2 mm. long, 0.4-0.45 mm. thick, gray, finely lacunose. Gametic chromosome number, n-1. Autogamous or rarely cleistogamous.
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Discussion
This species is here taken in the same sense in which it was constituted by Munz (Bot, Gaz. 85: 238-240) in 1928. Some of the populations from the western portions of the range of this species consist of relatively small-flowered individuals, but these do not constitute the sort of well-marked geographical race that I consider to merit formal taxonomic recognition. Thus I do not recognize the taxon described as Oenothera minor var. cusickii. In some of the plants of Hitchcock & Muhlick 21200 (DS), from 21 miles north of French Glen, Harney County, Oregon, the epipetalous stamens are extremely reduced, the apparently abortive anthers being subsessile. It is conceivable that some plants of this species might be found which lack this set of anthers completely, as is the case in some populations of C. andina and in both known populations of C. exilis. In these cases, it would appear that the drastic reduction or loss of the smaller set of anthers is associated with autogamy; in the other genus of the tribe Onagreae containing species in which there has been a loss of the epipetalous stamens, namely Clarkia, this is certainly not the case.