Phemeranthus calycinus (Engelm.) Kiger, rock–pink. Perennial herb, with upright caudex, not rosetted, 1–stemmed at base, in range unbranched with single, terminal inflorescence, < 25 cm tall; shoots with only cauline, ascending, cylindric leaves along nongreen stem, glabrous but not glaucous; caudex to 40 × 7 mm, unbranched or having a major branch, with some adventitious roots.
Stem cylindric, in range aboveground < 60 × < 2 mm diameter, tan aging brown to reddish brown, with short internodes but not tufted, without persistent, withered leaves abscised cleanly from base upward.
Leaves helically alternate, simple, short–petiolate, without stipules; petiole flared at base and where longer flattened on upper side, nongreen (flesh–colored), < 1—3 mm long; blade cylindric, in range (< 5—)10—45 × 1—1.5 mm, green and thinly fleshy, entire, conic with minute whitish point at tip, lacking visible venation.
Inflorescence cyme, terminal on long peduncle, several–flowered (< 10), bracteate, glabrous, with a pair of bracts subtending base (bract and bractlet) of cyme; peduncle suberect to ascending, cylindric, slender, to 130 × 0.5 mm, white to cream–colored to above midpoint and somewhat reddish above; bracts at base of cyme not fused, initially widely spreading later appressed, at least 1/2–sheathing, awl–shaped, 3 mm long, aging faded rose, with a few weak teeth on margin, bracts at next fork fused across node, acuminate, ca. 2.5 mm long and decreasing to 2 mm long; pedicel to 10 mm long not increasing in fruit, initially mostly green, 0.4 mm diameter but glossy green and enlarged below flower 1.2—1.5 mm across.
Flower bisexual, radial, saucerlike, ca. 25 mm across; not fragrant; sepals (bracteoles of some authors) 2, opposite, appressed to corolla, subequal, obovate, ca. 5 × 4—4.2 mm, green with colorless membranous margins, overlapped at base, rounded or slightly notched at tip, at anthesis venation inconspicuous, drying thin, veiny, and papery appressed to developing fruit; petals 5, widely spreading for less than 3 hours from midafternoon, obovate, in range ca. 13 × 7.5—8 mm, rose–purple to magenta; stamens ca. 30—49 in 2—3 series, free; filaments ascending to erect, 4.7—6.5 × 0.15—0.2 mm, white, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 1 mm long, bright yellow to light orange, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow or light orange; nectary disc inside filaments, scalloped, 0.2 mm long, white, producing thin nectar next to base of pistil; pistil 1; ovary superior, obovoid, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, light green, glabrous, 1–chambered with 25+ ovules attached to central post (free–central); style exserted ca. 3 mm above anthers, 7.5—8 mm long, white, at top stigmatic and hemispheroid with 3 white, recurved, conspicuously papillate lobes.
Fruit capsule, 3–valved dehiscing top–to–base, 20+–seeded, obovoid 3–ridged and somewhat 3–sided with 1 face narrower, 4—5.5 × 4 mm, valves broadly elliptic; erect on pedicel to 12 mm long.
Seed somewhat D–shaped compressed side–to–side and appearing snail–like on sides (= strongly curved embryo around central storage tissue, perisperm), 1.1—1.2 × 0.9—1 × 0.5 mm, glossy black but with pale cover (pellicle), surface textured by raised cells (not smooth).
A. C. Gibson