''Navarretia nigelliformis'' is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name adobe navarretia. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

, where it is known from the Central Valley and adjacent mountains. It grows in vernally wet depressions in

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

soils, such as

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s. It is a hairy annual herb growing up to about 32 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves are divided into many very narrow linear or needlelike lobes. The

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 ...

is a head of flowers lined with leaflike

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s with long white hairs. The flower is yellow with brown or purple spots in the throat.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
nigelliformis Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polemoniaceae-stub