Plagiobothrys leptocladus
Encyclopedia
Plagiobothrys leptocladus is a species of flowering plant in the borage family
known by the common names finebranched popcornflower and alkali plagiobothrys. It is native to western North America from Alaska
to the Dakotas
to northern Mexico, where it can be found in varied types of wet habitat, including inundated alkali flats
and vernal pool
s.
It is an annual herb growing mostly decumbent with stems 10 to 30 centimeters long. It is hairless to roughly hairy in texture. The leaves along the stem reach 10 centimeters in length near the base. The inflorescence
is a series of tiny white flowers each 1 or 2 millimeters wide. Each is surrounded by a calyx of bent, ribbed sepal
s. The fruit is a lance-shaped nutlet.
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the Borage or Forget-me-not family, include a variety of shrubs, trees, and herbs, totaling about 2,000 species in 146 genera found worldwide.A number of familiar plants belong to this family....
known by the common names finebranched popcornflower and alkali plagiobothrys. It is native to western North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to the Dakotas
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
to northern Mexico, where it can be found in varied types of wet habitat, including inundated alkali flats
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
and vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s.
It is an annual herb growing mostly decumbent with stems 10 to 30 centimeters long. It is hairless to roughly hairy in texture. The leaves along the stem reach 10 centimeters in length near the base. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a series of tiny white flowers each 1 or 2 millimeters wide. Each is surrounded by a calyx of bent, ribbed 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. The fruit is a lance-shaped nutlet.