''Erysimum ammophilum'' is a species of
wallflower
''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus ''Cheiranthus'' is sometimes included here in whole o ...
known by the common name coast wallflower.
It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where it is an uncommon beach-dwelling wildflower. It is known from dunes and bluffs near
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...
, the coastline of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
, and parts of the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
.
Calflora database: Erysimum ammophilum
. accessed 2.14.2013
Description
''Erysimum ammophilum'' is a biennial or perennial plant varying in size from a few centimeters to over half a meter in height. It starts from a patch of long, narrow dark green leaves and produces one to several erect stems lined with similar leaves.
Atop the stem is an array of bright yellow flowers, each with four rounded petals. As the stem grows the flowers drop away to leave developing fruits, which are narrow silique
A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit i ...
s 2 to 12 centimeters long sticking out from the stem. The fruits contain winged seeds.
See also
*California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
The California coastal sage and chaparral ( es, Salvia y chaparral costero de California) is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It ...
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment for ''Erysimum ammophilum''USDA Plants Profile''Erysimum ammophilum'' — Photo gallery
ammophilum
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the Channel Islands of California
Natural history of Monterey County, California
Natural history of San Diego County, California
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