Langloisia setosissima (Bristly Langloisia, Bristly-calico or Lilac Sunbonnets) is a flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

, the sole species in the genus Langloisia in the family Polemoniaceae

Polemoniaceae

Polemoniaceae are a family of about 25 genera with 270-400 species of annual and perennial plants, native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity in western North America, especially in California.Only one genus is found in Europe, and two in Asia, where they...

. It is native to the western United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where it is found in desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 washes and on rocky slopes and plains from eastern Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 and Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 south to eastern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

It is an annual plant

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

, growing to 4-20 cm tall. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are spirally arranged, linear, 2-3 cm long, densely bristly and with a toothed margin. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are white to light blue or pale purple in color, 1.5-2 cm diameter, with a deeply five-lobed corolla.

There are two subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

:

• Langloisia setosissima subsp. setosissima. Flowers with a uniformly colored corolla, possibly showing faint patterns of dots and stripes.
• Langloisia setosissima subsp. punctata (syn. Langloisia lanata, Langloisia punctata). Flowers with a corolla spotted with darker purple and yellow.