Pholisma arenarium
Encyclopedia
Pholisma arenarium is a species of flowering plant
in the borage family
known by several common names, including desert Christmas tree, scaly-stemmed sand plant, and purple sand food. It is native to northwestern Mexico, Arizona
and southern California
, where it grows in many habitat types, including desert, chaparral
, and sandy coastal dune
s. It is a fleshy perennial herb taking a compact cylindrical or ovate shape up to 20 or 30 centimeters tall above ground, often with part of the stem below the sandy surface. It is a parasitic plant
growing on the roots or of various shrub
s such as burrobush
, Yerba Santa
, California croton
, rabbitbrush
, and ragweed
s. As a heterotroph
which derives its nutrients from other plants, it lacks chlorophyll
and is brownish-gray or whitish in color. There are hairy, glandular, pointed leaves along the surface of the plant. Flowers emerge between them, each roughly one centimeter wide, the rounded corolla lavender to deep or bright purple with a white margin.
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...
in the borage family
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 several common names, including desert Christmas tree, scaly-stemmed sand plant, and purple sand food. It is native to northwestern Mexico, 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...
and southern 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...
, where it grows in many habitat types, including desert, chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, and sandy coastal dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s. It is a fleshy perennial herb taking a compact cylindrical or ovate shape up to 20 or 30 centimeters tall above ground, often with part of the stem below the sandy surface. It is a parasitic plant
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
growing on the roots or of various shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s such as burrobush
Hymenoclea
Hymenoclea is a small genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known generally as burrobrush or winged ragweed. These monoecious shrubs are native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico...
, Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon
Eriodictyon is a genus of plants within the Hydrophylloideae subfamily of the Boraginaceae family.It includes Yerba Santa , along with other similarly named plants...
, California croton
Croton californicus
Croton californicus is a species of croton known by the common name California croton. This plant is native to California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California, where it grows in the deserts and along the coastline....
, rabbitbrush
Chrysothamnus
Chrysothamnus is a member of the plant family Asteraceae. It is a semi-deciduous shrub, sometimes also called sagebrush. The native distribution is in the arid western United States and northern Mexico...
, and ragweed
Ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the sunflower family Asteraceae. Common names include bitterweeds and bloodweeds....
s. As a heterotroph
Heterotroph
A heterotroph is an organism that cannot fix carbon and uses organic carbon for growth. This contrasts with autotrophs, such as plants and algae, which can use energy from sunlight or inorganic compounds to produce organic compounds such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from inorganic carbon...
which derives its nutrients from other plants, it lacks chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
and is brownish-gray or whitish in color. There are hairy, glandular, pointed leaves along the surface of the plant. Flowers emerge between them, each roughly one centimeter wide, the rounded corolla lavender to deep or bright purple with a white margin.