''Hackelia micrantha'' is a species of flowering plant in the

borage family Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

known by the common names Jessica sticktight and Jessica's stickseed.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, southeast through

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

into

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and south to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. It grows at elevations of , including in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. It is native to meadows, shrubby slopes, open forests, and streambank habitats.

Description

''Hackelia micrantha'' is a lush perennial herb growing to heights of to over . Its erect stems are surrounded at the base by many oval-shaped to lance-shaped leaves, the longest over long. The upper stems are generally leafless and hold cyme

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of bright blue flowers. Each petite flower has five rounded lobes with a smaller petallike appendage at the base of each. The bloom period is June to August. The fruit is a nutlet with pointed prickles.

References

External links

''Hackelia micrantha'' (Jessica sticktight, Jessica's stickseed, small flowered stickseed)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Hackelia micrantha''UC CalPhotos gallery
micrantha Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Alberta Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Utah Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Boraginoideae-stub