''Camissonia'', sometimes commonly known as sun cup or sundrop, is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the evening primrose family

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, especially in the

California Floristic Province The California Floristic Province (CFP) is a floristic province with a Mediterranean-type climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora similar to other regions with a winter rainfall and summer drought climate l ...

, but also one from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Previous circumscriptions of the genus had recognized up to 62 species before it was split among other closely related genera.Wagner WL, PC Hoch, and PH Raven. 2007
Revised classification of the Onagraceae
''Systematic Botany Monographs'', 83: 1-240. The flowers generally open at dawn and are yellow. They are usually cup-shaped, thus the common name. Formerly included in ''

Oenothera ''Oenothera'' is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to ...

'', the species of ''Camissonia'' are distinguished by having a club- or head-shaped stigma, instead of the 4-part-divided stigma of ''Oenothera'' or ''

Clarkia ''Clarkia'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Over 40 species are currently classified in ''Clarkia''; almost all are native to western North America, though one species (''Clarkia tenella'') is native to South America. ...

''. ''Camissonia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Schinia cupes ''Schinia cupes'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Texas, west to New Mexico and north to Kansas and Colorado. The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adults are on wing from March to June. There is a second smaller generation flyin ...

'' and '' Schinia deserticola'', both of which feed on ''C. claviformis'', the latter exclusively. The genus is named after the botanist

Adelbert von Chamisso Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Bonc ...

Selected species

According to

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

, the genus includes the following accepted species:The Plant List
/ref> *'' Camissonia andina'' (Nutt.) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia bairdii'' S.L.Welsh *''

Camissonia benitensis ''Camissonia benitensis'' is a species of evening primrose known by the common names San Benito suncup and San Benito evening primrose. It is endemic to the Diablo Range of the South Coast Ranges of California, where its range includes far south ...

'' P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia breviflora'' (Torr. & A.Gray) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia campestris'' (Greene) P.H.Raven (Mojave suncup) *''

Camissonia contorta ''Camissonia contorta'' is a species of evening primrose known by the common name plains evening primrose. It is an annual herb producing a slender, bending to curling red or green stem which is sometimes hairy. It is up to 30 centimeters long ...

'' (Douglas) Kearney *'' Camissonia dentata''(Cav.) Reiche *'' Camissonia dominguez-escalantorum'' N.D.Atwood, L.C.Higgins & S.L.Welsh *'' Camissonia graciliflora'' (Hook. & Arn.) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia hilgardii'' (Greene) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia integrifolia'' P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia kernensis'' (Munz) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia lacustris'' P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia ovata'' (Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia palmeri'' (S.Watson) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia parvula'' (Nutt.) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia pubens'' (S.Watson) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia pusilla'' P.H.Raven *''

Camissonia sierrae ''Camissonia'', sometimes commonly known as sun cup or sundrop, is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the evening primrose family Onagraceae. A total of 12 species are known, nearly all from western North America, especially in the Califor ...

'' P.H.Raven *''

Camissonia strigulosa ''Camissonia strigulosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name sandysoil suncup. The plant is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in sandy areas, such as beaches, mountain ...

'' (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia subacaulis'' (Pursh) P.H.Raven *'' Camissonia tanacetifolia'' (Torr. & A.Gray) P.H.Raven

References

Jepson Flora Project: ''Camissonia''
Onagraceae genera Adelbert von Chamisso {{Myrtales-stub