Flowers of the Southwest Deserts

by Natt N. Dodge

Nemacladus glanduliferus

Common name: THREADPLANT Arizona desert. (Nemacladus glanduliferus). Purple-white. March-May. California desert. (Nemacladus rigidus). Purple-white. March-May. Bellflower family. Size: 2 to 12 inches tall.

The tiny, slender-stemmed, profusely-branched Threadplant is so small that it is completely overlooked by the majority of visitors to the Southwest, yet it is one of the most common and most attractive of desert flowers. Under a magnifying glass, the shape and coloring of the minute, delicate flowers make them appear as beautiful as orchids. The white flowers are touched with tints of red, brown, yellow, or purple.

Plants are abundant below 1,800 feet elevation on dry, gravelly or rocky soils, frequently along the shoulders of highways from Nevada throughout western Arizona and southern California to Lower California. Be on the lookout for this small but interesting and beautiful plant.

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