Camissonia boothii subsp. desertorum (Munz) 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: 10 miles southwest of Garlic Springs, San Bernardino County, California, 8 April 1924, P. A. Munz & D. D. Keck 7881 (POM 48926).
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Description
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Description - Similar to subsp. decorticans but shorter, usually less than 35 cm. tall. Capsule flexuous-contorted, the beak often directed downward, 1-1.6 mm. thick near the base. Gametic chromosome number, n-7.
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Discussion
As here conceived, Camissonia boothii subsp. desertorum occupies a position intermediate between subsp. decorticans and subsp. condensate,, both geographically and morphologically. Populations of subsp. desertorum from the northern portion of its range are in general more pubescent than those from farther south and were referred by Munz (Bot. Gaz. 85: 241-247. 1929; N. Amer. Fl. II. 5: 151-154. 1965) to subsp. alyssoides. They may represent intermediates with that taxon, but do not agree with it in habit, being much more lax, and have much more appressed pubescence. In my view, the only populations of subsp. alyssoides in California are those in eastern Lassen County, and the nearest populations to those of subsp. desertorum are in the Sheep Range of northern Clark County, Nevada, and in Churchill County, Nevada. I have also included in subsp. desertorum those populations from the Panamint Mountains Inyo, County, California, listed by Munz (Bot. Gaz. 85: 245. 1929) as approaching Oenothera decorticans var. rutila; these were apparently also included in subsp. desertorum by Munz in his more recent work on the group (N. Amer. Fl. II. 5: 153-154. 1965). Populations from the eastern slope of the Inyo Mountains and elsewhere in Inyo County, California, where they grow on limestone, have relatively small flowers and lax inflorescences, which make them appear quite distinct in appearance. They were named Oenothera boothii subsp. inyoensis by Munz in 1965, and at the time, I too thought that they deserved formal taxonomic recognition. Intergradation with other populations more typical of subsp. desertorum is so broad and complete that it is often impossible to assign particular plants to one or the other with confidence. Therefore I now consider that they are best assigned to subsp. desertorum, despite the fact that their inclusion makes subsp. desertorum quite heterogeneous. A few collections made within the range of subsp. condensate on the western Colorado Desert of California appear to be this subspecies; for example, Parish in 1882 (JEPS) from Whitewater, Riverside County. These may be extreme variants of subsp. condensate or may represent relict populations of subsp. desertorum in an area now largely occupied by subsp. condensate, which may be of relatively recent derivation.