Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT)

Tap-rooted annual; stems spreading to upright, simple to freely branched, leafy, 10-100 cm tall. Simple to freely branches. Leaves alternate, linear to lance-shaped, smooth edges, 2-7 cm long, mostly 2-6 mm wide, unstalked or stalks less than 3 mm long. Inflorescence dense, (or few to several in loose, leafy bracted clusters - Pojar and MacKinnon) axis straight when in bud buds usually erect; hypanthium 2-10 mm long; corollas bowl-shaped, tending to close at night; petals pink to rose-purple, red-spotted or marked near centre, egg to fan-shaped, not clawed, 1-4 cm long; sepals usually joine and turned to one side, sometimes partially free; stamens 8, anthers glabrous or slightly hairy, all alike; stigmas 1-6 mm long, linear to oval, yellow; styles usually exceeding stamens.

Fruits are capsules, linear to somewhat club-shaped, (1) 1.5-4.5 cm long, straight to curved, beakless or with a beak several mm long, 4 grooved when young, later cylindric and 8-ribbed.

var. caurina (Abrams) C.L. Hitchc.

Stigmatic lobes oval, usually not over 2 mm long; petals usually less than 2 cm long. var. lindleyi (Dougl.) C.L. Hitchc.

Stigmatic lobes linear, usually over 2 mm long; petals greater than 2 cm long. Photo by Chris Junck.

Onagraceae

Dry, open, grassy slopes and bluffs and forest edges in the lowland zone, (Douglas et al; Pojar and MacKinnon, revised 2004)

Fast draining soils

Relatively dry

Prefers full sun

Rock outcrops in Garry oak ecosystems

Beautiful annual, good in hanging baskets.

June-mid-July

mid-July-August

2900/gram (Seeds Trust)

Collect capsules into paper bag, let dry, capsules will split and seeds are easily separated (personal observation Milne).

Store in container in fridge (personal observation Milne).

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.