''Nemacladus rigidus'' is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name stoutstem threadplant. It is native to the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

in the United States, where it grows in open areas, often on bare soil. It is a small annual herb producing a thin, spreading purplish stem no more than 9 centimeters long. Oval leaves up to a centimeter 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 zigzagging branches bearing 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 tiny

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 under 2 millimeters long. It has five red-veined white or purple-tinged lobes.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
Campanulaceae Flora of California Flora of the Great Basin Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Campanulaceae-stub