''Nemacladus ramosissimus'' is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name smallflower threadplant. It is native to the mountains and deserts of the southern half of

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 adjacent parts of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is a small annual herb producing a thread-thin erect brown or purplish stem up to about 32 centimeters tall. Lobed oval leaves under 2 centimeters long occur at the base of the plant. 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 series of branches bearing occasional flowers on thin, curving

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

. There is a single small

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 ...

at the base of each pedicel. The flower is no more than 2 millimeters long with five white lobes fused along the lower half.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
Campanulaceae Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Campanulaceae-stub