California macrophylla (Hooker & Arnott) Aldasoro, C. Navarro, P. Vargas, L. Sáez & Aedo

California macrophylla ia an annual with short stems from western north America

Leaves cordate, renate-serrate, often shallowly lobed, somewhat glaucous, or greener with rather deeper lobes, on rather long petioles, young leaves kidney shaped.

California macrophylla
Photo by Joe Decruyenaere This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Inflorescence: Umbels of 2-5 flowers; bracts small, narrow, pointed; buds large, round; flowers 2-3cm across, white in northern populations and pink-purple in southern populations.

Fruit: Beak 4-5cm; carpel 7mm; awn with rather short dark brown bristles; foveole small, upward facing or nil, or hidden by carpel bristles, but very flat top to carpel.

California macrophylla
California macrophylla; Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Jacumba, California; 30/04/2023; Photo: Madge, from iNat; (CC BY-NC)

Distribution: endemic to North America; USA: Oregon and California; Mexico: Baja California; in unsprayed open field and grassy places below 1200m.

Northern populations have rounded to slightly lobes glaucous leaves: (California macrophyllum var. macrophyllum)

California macrophylla; Imperatrice, Jackson County, OR, US; May 4, 2017; photo: Scot Loring; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)
California macrophylla; Imperatrice, Jackson County, OR, US; May 1, 2017; photo: Scot Loring;(CC BY-NC 4.0)
California macrophylla; Imperatrice, Jackson County, OR, US; May 4, 2017; photo: Scot Loring; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Southern populations have more deeply lobed green leaves and pink flowers (California macrophyllum var. californicum (Greene) Jeps.).

California macrophylla: Ensenada, BC , MX; 12/04/2021; photo: Carlos Gonzalez; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)
California macrophylla: Ensenada, BC , MX; 12/04/2021; photo: Carlos Gonzalez; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)
California macrophylla: Ensenada, BC , MX; 12/04/2021; photo: Carlos Gonzalez; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)
California macrophylla
California macrophylla: Ensenada, BC , MX; 12/04/2021; photo: Carlos Gonzalez; from iNaturalist.org; (CC BY-NC 4.0)

The two populations overlap roughly through the transverse range .

Remarks: has been said to have evolved in California over the last 200 years, from E. malacoides? But several characters too different: bristles on awn, foveole, and beak size. It has recently been found the genus California separated from Erodium in the Early Miocene period.