''Pectocarya pusilla'' is a species of flowering plant in the
borage family known by the common names little combseed and little pectocarya. It is native to the west coast of the United States from
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
to central
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 grows in several habitat types, including disturbed areas such as roadsides. This is an annual herb producing a slender, rough-haired stem, generally upright to erect in form to a maximum height of about 38 centimeters. The small, pointed linear leaves are alternately arranged higher on the stem, and those lower on the stem are oppositely arranged and fused at the bases. 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 flowers, each on a curved
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
. The flower has small green
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s with short hooked hairs and a rounded white corolla. The fruit is an array of four flattened nutlets with fringes of comblike hairs.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
pusilla
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