June Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Glabrous succulent annual branched from base, the slender stems decumbent or ascending, 1-5 dm. long, with 8 prominent ribs; lvs. alternate, entire, ovate, 1-2.5 cm. long, subsessile or the lower obovate to spatulate, longer and petioled;  fls. perfect, green, axillary, solitary or clustered; calyx with 3 concave, subequal, segms., not enclosing fr.; stamen 1; style 1; stigmas 3; fr. a depressed globose utricle, indurate, finely costate; seeds horizontal, lenticular, rugulose, black, 1-2 mm. across.

Habitat:  Bluffs; Coastal Sage Scrub, Coastal Strand; coastal Los Angeles Co. to L. Calif.  Most Channel Ids.  April-May.

Name:  Greek, aphanes, inconspicuous. (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 352).  Gr. bliton, name of a plant of southern Europe.  (Jaeger 37).

General:  Rare in Orange County. According to Fred Roberts this is the first find (1991) in the County since 1932.  Found on the bluff side of the wooden horse and bike path easterly of the Delhi Ditch.  The plants have persisted and were observed in 1992 and 1993, however, by 1995 they were gone and have not been observed since.  In April, 2005, I found the plant again on the south facing bluff in lower Big Canyon; it was quite evident as it was drying out and showed up against the otherwise green foliage around it. (my comments).          In March 1932 Munz collected this species on the "sea bluffs" in Newport Beach and the "dry bluffs" in Costa Mesa. (Fred Roberts).  A candidate for listing on the Federal list of endangered plants with a ranking of 2 and the California Native Plant Society list with a ranking of 3.  (Roberts 53).   A ranking of 1 is the most endangered and 4 the least.  (my comment).

Text Ref:  Abrams Vol. II 68; Hickman, Ed. 501; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 352.

Photo Ref:  May-June 91 # 19,22.

Identity: by R. De Ruff, confirmed by John Johnson.

First Found:  June 1991.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 422.

Plant specimen to UC Riverside in 2004.  Another specimen collected in 2005.

Last edit 8/4/05.  

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