Eremothera boothii subsp. desertorum
Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 209. 2007.
Herbs strigillose and/or glandular puberulent, especially in inflorescence. Stems 10–35 cm. Leaves often clustered toward base, 1–9 × 0.2–1.4 cm; petiole 0–4.5 cm; blade narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate or oblanceolate, margins subentire to sparsely denticulate. Inflorescences relatively leafless. Flowers: floral-tube (2–) 4–8 mm; petals white, 3–7 mm. Capsules flexuous-contorted, apex often curved downward, 1–1.6 mm diam. near base. Seeds dimorphic.
Phenology: Flowering Apr–Aug.
Habitat: Sandy or gravelly slopes and washes, creosote desert shrublands, pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Elevation: 400–2400 m.
Discussion
Subspecies desertorum is intermediate geographically and morphologically between subspp. condensata and decorticans (P. H. Raven 1969). Populations from Inyo County, where they grow on limestone, have relatively small flowers and lax inflorescences, which gives them a distinctive appearance; these were named Oenothera boothii subsp. inyoensis. Very extensive intergradation between them and more typical subsp. desertorum caused Raven to consider them part of subsp. desertorum.
Selected References
None.