Gutierrezia californica

(de Candolle) Torrey & A. Gray

Fl. N. Amer. 2: 193. 1842.

Common names: San Joaquin snakeweed
Basionym: Brachyris californica de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 5: 313. 1836
Synonyms: Gutierrezia bracteata Abrams Gutierrezia divergens Greene Xanthocephalum californicum (de Candolle) Greene
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 20. Treatment on page 93. Mentioned on page 90, 94.

Subshrubs, 20–70 cm. Stems glabrous or minutely hispidulous. Leaves: basal absent at flowering; cauline blades 1-nerved, filiform to linear, 0.5–1(–1.3) mm wide, reduced distally, often reduced in arrays to tiny, curved bracts. Heads borne singly or (sometimes subsessile and in clusters of 2–3) in loose arrays. Involucres turbinate to cylindric-turbinate (longer than diams.), 2.5–4 mm diam. Phyllary apices flat. Ray florets 4–13; corollas yellow, 2.5–7 mm. Disc florets (4–)6–13. Cypselae 2–2.8 mm, faces densely strigoso-sericeous; pappi of 1–2 series of lanceolate to oblanceolate scales 1.5–2.2 mm. 2n = 16, 24.


Phenology: Flowering Apr–Nov(–Dec).
Habitat: Grassland, chaparral, oak woods, alluvium, rocky slopes, sometimes over serpentine
Elevation: 100–400 m

Distribution

V20-181-distribution-map.gif

Calif., Mexico (Baja California).

Discussion

Following D. D. Keck (1960) and M. A. Lane (1985), Gutierrezia californica is treated here as a variable taxon that includes G. divergens. O. T. Solbrig (1965, 1970) considered G. californica to be a narrow endemic restricted to serpentine outcrops of the San Francisco Bay region, in which case the earliest name for the more widely distributed plants, including those of Mexico, is G. divergens Greene. Molecular evidence (Y. Suh and B. B. Simpson 1990) tentatively supports the recognition of the serpentine endemic; more detailed sampling would be needed for an objective decision. The morphologic differences are quantitative and overlapping. Intergrades between G. californica in the broad sense and G. sarothrae are said to occur in California (Lane 1993).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Gutierrezia californica"
Guy L. Nesom +
(de Candolle) Torrey & A. Gray +
Brachyris californica +
San Joaquin snakeweed +
Calif. +  and Mexico (Baja California). +
100–400 m +
Grassland, chaparral, oak woods, alluvium, rocky slopes, sometimes over serpentine +
Flowering Apr–Nov(–Dec). +
Fl. N. Amer. +
Gutierrezia bracteata +, Gutierrezia divergens +  and Xanthocephalum californicum +
Gutierrezia californica +
Gutierrezia +
species +