Nemacaulis denudata Nutt. var. denudata
|
|
Nemacaulis denudata Nutt. var. denudata
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family)NativeWoolly-heads |
May Photo
Plant Characteristics:
Slender-stemmed diffuse but sparingly branched annual, branching from the
base, prostrate or usually ascending, reddish, 1-3.5 dm. long, glabrate; lvs.
oblong-spatulate, 2-5 cm. long, woolly, +/- crisped; cauline lvs. bractlike;
bracts of infl. oblong-obovate, 2 mm. long, whorled, glabrous without, woolly
within; fls. small, in crowded sessile subglobose heads, perfect, each fl. with
a free herbaceous bract, yellowish or pinkish, 1 mm. long, short-pedicelled;
calyx 6-cleft, enclosing the ak.; stamens 3 (or 4), anthers dk. red; ak. brown,
shining, ovoid, ca. 0.6 mm. long, acute.
Habitat:
Sandy places such as sea beaches, dunes, etc.; Coastal Strand; Los
Angeles Co. to L. Calif., rare about Palm Springs.
April-Sept.
Name:
Greek, nema, thread, and kaulos, stem.
(Munz, Flora So. Calif. 698).
Latin, de, prefix indicating an undoing of an action, also,
meaning down, down from and Latin, nudas, naked
(Jaeger 76,168). Denudata
probably refers to the stems, which, unlike the leaves and flower clusters, have
lost their covering of wool and are naked.
(John Johnson).
General:
Rare in the study area having been found only on the sandy beach at the
Dept. of Fish and Game Shellmaker headquarters.
There are a number of plants in this one small location.
The various texts describe the species as having 3 stamens.
I found a number of fls. with 4 stamens. (my comments).
"The occurrence at Palm Springs is of
interest. During the Pliocene
geological period, 8 million to 2 million years ago, the Gulf of California
extended to Whitewater Canyon or beyond Cabazon.
Plants of the sea coast were along its shores as well as along the
Pacific shore. Although the sea of the Gulf has been withdrawn for perhaps two
million years, some of the shore plants still persist there in Imperial Valley.
At Whitewater Canyon, on slopes at its mouth, Euphorbia misera
still persists, as well as at the California Pacific Coast such as at Corona del
Mar. I wonder if the Nemacaulis
denudata var. denudata is such a persistent relic of the Pliocene Sea also?"
(John Johnson).
One species in the genus. (Munz,
Flora So. Calif. 698). Rare: California Native Plant Society List 2.
(Roberts, A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Orange County
California 1998. p. 49
Text Ref:
Abrams, Vol. II 2; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 698; Roberts 34.
Photo Ref:
May-June 93 # 6,8.
Identity: by R. De Ruff, confirmed by John Johnson.
Computer Ref: Plant Data 450.
Have plant specimen.
Last edit 6/1/03
 |
May Photo