川犀草 chuan xi cao

Reseda linifolia Vahl in Hornemann, Hort. Bot. Hafn. 2: 501. 1815; Oligomeris glaucescens Cambessèdes.

Herbs annual, biennial, or perennial, 10-40 cm tall, glabrous. Stem erect, branched from base. Leaves alternate or fasciculate, linear, entire, 1-5 cm × 0.5-2 mm, apex obtuse or acute. Flowers sessile or nearly so, light greenish white, minute; bract lanceolate, ca. 1.8 mm. Sepals 4-parted; lobes lanceolate. Petals slightly shorter than sepals. Stamens 3; filaments connate at base. Capsule sessile or subsessile, light yellow, subglobose, ca. 2 mm diam., angled, apically 4-cleft. Seeds black or light green, shiny, numerous. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul. 2n = 30, 32.

Beaches of the Jinsha Jiang; ca. 2100 m. Sichuan, Yunnan [W India, Pakistan; N Africa, SW Asia, Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands), North America (NW Mexico, SW United States)].

The native status of the Chinese plants is perhaps doubtful; the nearest native populations are in NW India, representing a considerable disjunction.