Nemacladus tenuis

Small-flowered desert threadsplant

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Small-flowered desert threadsplant is a California native annual found in desert regions in sandy or rocky habitats at elevations from 100 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces small white to pale lavender flowers with distinctively double-curved pedicels that curve upward at the tip. Growing with multiple slender branches 9 to 20 centimeters tall, the plant emerges with silver-gray or reddish-brown stems that spread from the base. Its leaves are narrow and lance-shaped, 5 to 15 millimeters long, often toothed or pinnately lobed, with basal leaves turning yellow-green as the plant ages. The tiny fruits are nearly spherical, measuring just 1 to 2.5 millimeters long with a rounded tip.

California counties: Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.