Nemacladus tenuis var. aliformis

Winged desert threadplant

Family: Campanulaceae · Type: annual · Native

Winged desert threadplant is a California native annual found in the Mojave Desert (D) bioregion in dry, sandy or gravelly soils at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to May, this delicate plant produces small flowers with distinctive maroon or brown adaxial lobes and white petals marked with yellow and brown. Growing with extremely slender stems, the threadplant reaches a diminutive size typical of desert annual species. Its small lance-linear bracts spread or curve reflexed, with flower pedicels measuring 8 to 15 millimeters long and less than 0.1 millimeters in diameter. The tiny fruit measures 2 to 2.5 millimeters in length, reflecting the plant's exceptionally fine, thread-like structure.

Habitat: Dry, sandy or gravelly soils

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: D.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial

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