花菱草 hua ling cao

Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, glaucous, glabrous. Stems erect to spreading, 30-60 cm, obviously longitudinally costate, with many branches spreading, dichotomous. Basal leaves several, 10-30 cm, petiolate; blade tripinnatipartite; lobes various, acutely linear, acutely oblong, or obtusely spatulate-oblong, with 3 terminal lobes, middle mostly broad and short. Cauline leaves similar to basal leaves, but progressively smaller and shortly petiolate. Flowers solitary, terminal. Pedicel 5-15 cm. Receptacles concave, funnelform or nearly tubular, 3-4 mm in diam., cupular after flowering, margin undulately re- flexed. Calyx ovoid, ca. 1 cm, apically shortly conical, caplike. Petals 4, yellow, sometimes with orange flecks at base, deltoid-flabellate, 2.5-3 cm. Stamens many, more than 40; filaments filiform, basally inflated, ca. 3 mm; anthers orange, linear, 5-6 mm. Ovary long, narrow; styles short; stigmas 4, subulate-linear, unequally long. Capsule narrowly terete, 5-8 cm. Seeds spherical, 1-1.5 mm in diam., obviously tessellate. Fl. Apr-Aug, fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 12.

Widely introduced as courtyard ornamentals in China [native to United States (California)].

This species is widely cultivated in temperate and Mediterranean-type gardens. Cultivated forms include those with single and semi-double flowers in a wide range of colors from white and cream to yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple.