Monolepis pusilla
Encyclopedia
Monolepis pusilla is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family
Amaranthaceae
The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....

 known by the common names small povertyweed and red povertyweed. It is native to the western United States, including the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...

 and surrounding areas, where it grows in sandy scrub, dry valleys, playa
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...

s, and other open habitat. It is a somewhat fleshy annual herb producing a branching, slender stem that has a mealy whitish texture when young and turns dull to bright red with age, losing its grainy coat. It grows up to 14 to 20 centimeters tall. The thick oblong leaves are up to a centimeter long. Clusters of 1 to 3 minute flowers appear in the leaf axils, each flower made up of 3 tiny sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

s.

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