Ahronia. NYCTAGINACE.E. 



•J 



§ 2. Flowers 1 to 3 in the involucre, rather small; the perianth hnxid fiinnrlt'orni 

 from a short tube. — Oxybaphoides, (ji-ay. 

 3. M. Californica, Gray. Stems ascending from a somewhat worxly haso, a 

 foot or two lung, the whole plant yellowish-green, more or less viscid-]. "u hcscent : 

 leaves thickish, rounded ovate to cordate and ovate-oblong, G to lo lines long, 

 obtuse or acute, on very short |)etioles : involucres on short peduncles or nearly 

 sessile, small (2 to 3 lines long), 5-cleft, the lobes equal or slightly unequal, acute': 

 perianth rose-color or purple, narrowly campanulate, 5 lines long, the lobes spread- 

 ing, emarginate : stamens as long, nearly equalling the style: fruit ovate, smo(.th, 

 11 lines long. — Bot. Mex. Bound. 173; Torrey, same, 169, t. 48. Oxi/bapliHs 

 glabrifolius, var. crassifolius, Choisy, 1. c. 431. 



On dry hillsides, Southern California and eastward, from Los Angeles and Northern Nevada to 

 Lower California and Southern Utah. This is probably the Oxijbaphus Iwvis, Benth., from Mag- 

 daleiia Bay, thoiigli described as glabrous throughout and with very unequal invohicral lob.-s. 



2. ALLIONIA, Linn. 



Involucre calyx-like, 3-parted, herbaceous, scarcely changed in fruit, 3-flowered. 

 Perianth funnelform, with an oblique 4 - 5-lobed limb. Stamens 3 to 5, included, 

 nearly distinct. Stigma capitate. Fruit ovate, compressed, smooth and convex on 

 the inner side, the back with a rigid inflexed toothed margin enclosing a double line 

 of stipitate tubercles. Embryo plicate, the inner cotyledon shorter. — Annual or 

 perennial herbs, with opposite very unequal leaves, and axillary pedunculate 

 flowers. 



Probably only a single veiy variable species, common to North and South America. 



1. A. incarnata, Linn. Annual, or the root sometimes biennial or perhaps 

 perennial, the slender branching stems prostrate, a foot or two long or more ; 

 pubescence viscid, short or floccose : leaves ovate, | to 1| inches long, very unequal, 

 obtuse or acute, the oblique base acutish or rounded "or cordate, exceeding the 

 slender petiole : peduncles usually shorter than the leaves : involucres cleft nearly 

 to the base; lobes concave, broadly oblong or rounded, H to 2.^ lines long: peri- 

 anth rose-colored or white, 2 to 4 lines long ; lobes emarginate, "one of them mucli 

 shorter than tli^ rest : fruit a line and a half long, usually somewhat cariiiate on the 

 convex side, the margin varying greatly in the number and shape of the teeth, 

 which are usually 5 (1 to 7) on each side, very broad or slender, sometimes 

 gland-tipped. — Choisy, DC. Prodr. xiii^. 434. A. malachroides, Benth. Bot. 

 Sulph. 44. 



In Southern California, from Monterey {Edwards) to Fort Yuma {Thomas), and more fre- 

 quent eastward to Texas and southward ; found also in Cuba, and in South America from 

 Venezuela to Chili. 



3. ABRONIA, Tussieu. 



Involucre of 5 to 15 distinct somewhat scarious leaflets, enclosing numerous ses- 

 sile flowers. Perianth salverform, the tube elongated, and the limb of 5 (or 4) 

 obcordate or emarginate segments. Stamens usually 5, unequal, included in the 

 tube and adnate to it. Style included : stigma linear-clavate. Fruit coriaceous or 

 indurated, 3 - 5-winged, mostly reticulately veined, enclosing a smooth cylindrical 

 akene. Embryo by abortion monocotyledonous. — Annual or perennial herbs, 

 often prostrate, and usually more or less viscid-pubescent, with thick t.pposite 

 unequal leaves, and elongated axillary and terminal peduncles : flowers usually very 

 fragrant and showy. 



