A N F Keys
NYCTAGINACEAE
FOUR
O'CLOCK FAMILY
1 Plants creeping, trailing stems sometimes buried; inflorescence headlike; flowers sessile; stigmas included, slender (linear); fruit with winglike lobes .. Abronia
1' Plants lacking trailing stems; inflorescence appearing terminal with opposite decussate branches; flowers on pedicels 1−8 mm long; stigmas exserted, hemispheric-capitate; fruit smooth or with angles but lacking wings .. Mirabilis
1 Perennial forming adventitious roots on stems buried in sand; plant axes viscid; blades fleshy to 3 mm thick and somewhat glaucous; head of flowers 15−20 mm across; flowers dark purplish red, perianth (calyx) 10−12 mm long; 1-seeded fruit 10−14 mm long .. Abronia maritima [pics]
1' Annual, taprooted and without adventitious roots on stems; plant axes not viscid; leaves barely fleshy and not glaucous; head of flowers 25−30 mm across; flowers light to bright lavender or magenta to fuchsia with white (yellowish) center, perianth (calyx) 12−18 mm long; 1-seeded fruit 7−10 mm long .. Abronia umbellata subsp. umbellata [pics]
1 Plants 50−150 cm tall; paired leaves of somewhat different sizes, not glandular; perianth (calyx) tubular and 30−50 mm long; fruit 7.5−9 mm long, 5-angled and bluntly 5-ribbed .. Mirabilis jalapa var. jalapa [pics]
1' Plants < 40 cm tall; paired leaves essentially equal, glandular-hairy; perianth (calyx) funnel-shaped and 11−16 mm long: fruit 4.5−4.8 mm long, lacking ribs but sometimes with 10 pale stripes .. Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia [pics]
The text of the above keys used with permission from
A Naturalist's Flora of the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, California
© Copyright
Barry A. Prigge and Arthur C. Gibson
2013