Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblonga

(Haworth) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle

in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 3: 396. 1828,.

IntroducedIllustrated
Basionym: Cotyledon oblonga Haworth Syn. Pl. Succ., 106. 1812
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 156.

Shrubs, branching near base. Stems 10–18 mm diam., stiff. Leaves 2–4 pairs; blade often red-edged, apex rounded, cuspidate, surfaces farinose [green]. Inflorescences: peduncle stout, 2–5 dm, nearly leafless; cyme broad, 10–30-flowered. Pedicels pendent in flower, erect in fruit, 1–3 cm. Flowers: sepals triangular, 2–5 mm; corolla-tube 15–25 mm, with hairy ring in proximal 1/4, lobes convolute in bud, [spreading] recoiled in anthesis, 10–15 × 6 mm; nectaries yellow, 2 mm wide; stamens 3 cm; epipetalous filaments adnate to corolla in basal 1/4; anthers 2.5–3.5 mm; gynoecium green, 3 cm × 6 mm; pistils appressed, tapering gradually into slender styles. 2n = 18.


Phenology: Flowering early summer.
Habitat: Sage scrub, 0-50 m

Distribution

V8 314-distribution-map.gif

Introduced; Calif., s Africa

Discussion

First collected in the flora area in 1917 by L. R. Abrams (6555, DS), Cotyledon orbiculata was locally common for years in coastal sage scrub on south-facing bluffs above Newport Bay, Orange County (R. V. Moran 1993, fig. 1), but with creeping urbanization is now nearly gone. In June 1995, the one remaining colony was 10 m wide, with just over 100 flowering stems. This taxon sometimes persists about abandoned gardens in southern California north to Monterey County; C. F. Smith (1976) noted it as becoming naturalized in waste places in Santa Barbara. It is introduced also in South Australia (P. I. Forster 1996).

The plants are highly poisonous to goats and sheep, and the meat of animals killed by cotyledonosis remains toxic even after cooking (T. C. Fuller and E. McClintock 1986).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

perigynous +  and hypogynous +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
rounded +
Reid V. Moran +
(Haworth) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle +
Cotyledon oblonga +
lobed +  and toothed +
obovate +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
circumscissile +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
circumscissile +
10-30-flowered +
Calif. +  and s Africa +
Sage scrub, 0-50 m +
axillary +  and terminal +
persistent +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (?) +
semi-inferior +  and superior +
tenuinucellate +, crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
erect;pendent +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
spreading +  and erect +
Flowering early summer. +
(3-)4-5(-12)[-30+]-carpellate +
connate +, nearly +  and distinct +
tapering +
in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. +
cross-ribbed +  and few-ribbed +
ellipsoid +
triangular +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
1 +  and many +
Introduced +  and Illustrated +
adnate +  and free +
antipetalous +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (?) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
woody +  and fleshy +
distinct +
Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblonga +
Cotyledon orbiculata +
variety +
5-gonal +
not conspicuous +
perennial +, biennial +  and annual +