Nama hispida
| Nama hispida | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Namaceae |
| Genus: | Nama |
| Species: | N. hispida |
| Binomial name | |
| Nama hispida | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Nama hispidum Gray (1862) | |
Nama hispida is an annual flowering plant in the family Namaceae.[1] Common names include sand bells, rough nama, and bristly nama. It is native to the American desert southwest and throughout northern and central Mexico.[2]
Description
[edit]Nama hispida is an annual herb growing 5-30 centimeters tall. The stems are erect to ascending and may further spread with age. The leaves are alternate, slightly broader at the tip and can be 1-7 centimeters long. The leaf bases narrow into a winged petiole, but the upper leaves are smaller and sessile. All the foliage is pubescent.[2]
The flowers are bright purple, lavender, or pink, and arranged in small clusters at branch tips or they are solitary in leaf axils. The calyces have 5 lobes and are divided nearly to the base. The corolla has a funnel to bell shape, 5 lobes, and is roughly 8-15 millimeters long and nearly as wide at the top. The fruit is a capsule with many tiny seeds.[2]
Distribution
[edit]Nama hispida occurs in the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico, largely throughout the Chihuahuan Desert. Its range extends from California east to Oklahoma and Texas. The distribution continues south into Baja and mainland Mexico, until the state of Veracruz. [1]
Ecology
[edit]Nama hispida is frequently, though not exclusively found on gypsum soils.[3]
Halictid bees of the genera Sphecodosoma and Conanthalictus have been reported as frequent pollinators of N.hispida.[4]
Uses
[edit]Nama hispida has been used by the Navajo to treat spider bites.[5]
Similar species
[edit]- Nama demissa purple mat
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Nama hispida Boiss." World Flora Online. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- 1 2 3 SEINet Arizona-New Mexico chapter - Nama hispida. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
- ↑ Taylor, Sarah (2012). Molecular Systematics and the Origins of Gypsophily in Nama L. (Boraginaceae) (PhD thesis). Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
- ↑ Tyrl, Ronald J.; Erteeb, Fathi B.; Bruner, Joe L.; Ezell, Wayland L.; Estes, James R.; Grummer, Bruce (1984). "A Biosystematic Study of the Relationship of Nama hispidum and Nama stevensii (Hydrophyllaceae)". The Southwestern Naturalist. 29 (4): 367–375. doi:10.2307/3670988. ISSN 0038-4909. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Moerman, Daniel E. (2009). Native American medicinal plants : an ethnobotanical dictionary. Portland, Or. : Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-035-4. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
External links
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