Gayophytum diffusum

General: Annual, 10-50 cm tall; plants with or without a central axis, freely branching when well developed; herbage glabrous or sparsely strigose, sometimes puberulent or spreading hairy; taprooted. Leaves: Alternate, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1-3 (6) cm long, to 5 mm wide, reduced upwards, margins entire; blades sessile or short-petiolate. Flowers: Inflorescence a spike, 5-15 cm long, densely flowered, elongating with age, the tip often lax or nodding; the flowers subtended by bracts, these 2-5 mm long, more- or-less persistent; floral tube 4-11 mm long, strigose- puberulent; sepals 5-9 mm long, reflexed at time of flowering; petals 3-7 mm long, becoming salmon-pink, orange-red, or deep maroon with age; style exserted beyond the floral tube; flowers April-September. Fruits: Capsule cylindrical, 5-15 mm long, 2-locular, but 4- valved (all 4 valves separating at maturity) glabrous or pubescent; seeds generally in 1 row in each locule. Ecology: Openings in pine forests, slopes; 1800-2900 m (6000-9500 ft); Apache, Coconino, Mohave, and Yavapai counties; western U.S. and Canada. Notes: Plants of Gayophytum decipiens (deceptive groundsmoke) are simple to sparsely branched, usually with a central axis; herbage is glabrous, minutely strigose, or with short spreading hairs; leaves are usually up to 2 cm long; flowers are small, inconspicuous, borne on short pedicels mostly 1-2 mm long, petals mostly 1-1.8 mm long; capsule is erect-ascending, 6-15 mm long, glabrous to pubescent. Widespread but not very common, G. decipiens occurs along meadow edges and streambanks, occasionally on dry, open slopes. Gayophytum ramosissimum (pinyon groundsmoke) is diffusely branched when well developed, often without a central axis; petals are up to 1 mm long (rarely up to 1.5 mm); capsules are short, 3-6 mm, usually equal in length to the pedicel; seeds are usually crowded into 2 rows in each locule. It often occurs in dry, open habitats in pine forests and pinyon-juniper woodlands. There are several species in our range that bear resemblance to Gayophytum. Epilobium brachycarpum usually has toothed leaves, notched petals, 4-locular capsules, an exfoliating lower stem, and seeds accompanied by a tuft of hairs. Polygonum douglasii, a slender annual, may be distinguished by the presence of an ocrea (sheathing membrane formed by the stipules). Editor: Springer et al. 2008