Loeseliastrum matthewsii
Encyclopedia
Loeseliastrum matthewsii is an annual herbaceous plant
of the Polemoniaceae
family known by the common name desert calico. It is native to the Mojave
and Sonoran Desert
s of western North America, where it is relatively common. It is a small plant with alternately arranged leaves, each up to 4 centimeters long and edged with bristle-tipped teeth. The flower is white, lavender, and purple streaked with a maroon arch over a white patch on each of the upper lobes.
The plant was named for Washington Matthews
.
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
of the 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...
family known by the common name desert calico. It is native to the Mojave
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
s of western North America, where it is relatively common. It is a small plant with alternately arranged leaves, each up to 4 centimeters long and edged with bristle-tipped teeth. The flower is white, lavender, and purple streaked with a maroon arch over a white patch on each of the upper lobes.
The plant was named for Washington Matthews
Washington Matthews
Washington Matthews was a surgeon in the United States Army, ethnographer, and linguist known for his studies of Native American peoples, especially the Navajo.-Early life and education:...
.