Zeltnera venusta (Canchalagua, California Centaury)

 7/24/11 Vista Grande Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve,

Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

7/24/11 Vista Grande Trail, SRP

 6/5/05 Forest Service Road at end of Tenaja Road, Cleveland National Forest,

Riverside-San Diego County line, CA

 6/5/05 Forest Service Road at end of Tenaja Road

6/5/05 Forest Service Road at end of Tenaja Road

6/25/10 On our property in La Cresta, Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

 6/3/01 On our property in La Cresta

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Canchalagua, California Centaury

SPECIES: Zeltnera venusta

FAMILY: Gentianaceae (Gentian Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 6/3/2001

LOCATION: On our property in La Cresta, Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

(Centaurium venustum)

Annual 3–50 cm

Leaf 5–25 mm, narrowly oblong to ovate

Inflorescence dense or open; pedicels often short

Flower: corolla throat ± white, lobes (2)10–20 mm, generally rose-purple (white); undehisced anthers 3–6 mm; stigma lobes 1–1.5 mm, separately stalked, fan-shaped, spreading

Ecology: Common. Dry scrub, grassland, forest

Elevation: < 1300 m.  

Bioregional distribution: e Klamath Ranges, Inner North Coast Ranges, s Outer North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range Foothills, Sierra Nevada Foothills, e San Joaquin Valley, Southwestern California (except n Channel Islands, especially San Diego Co.), Mojave Desert 

Flowering time: May–Aug

Highly variable; intergrades with  C. calycosum, C. exaltatum,  C. trichanthum. Much variation apparently environmental

Horticultural information: SUN, IRR: 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.

From Jepson e-Flora:

Synonyms: Centaurium venustum (A. Gray) B.L. Rob.; Centaurium venustum subsp. abramsii Munz; Zeltnera abramsii (Munz) G. Mans.

Unabridged Note: Highly variable. If recognized taxonomically, plants with narrow, acute corolla lobes assignable to Centaurium venustum subsp. abramsii Munz or Zeltnera abramsii (Munz) G. Mans. They occur sporadically throughout much of the range of Zeltnera venusta, but are more common northward. Intergradation appears to be extensive, but recognition as a variety may be appropriate. Some may be hybrids with Zeltnera trichantha. Plants in SW with pedicels to 50 mm, sometimes several-stemmed from base and/or with +- persistent basal leaves, may be hybrids with Zeltnera exaltata.