General: Annual herb from a fibrous root; stems prostrate to ascending, several, branched, angled, finely bristly-hairy, the hairs reflexed downward, 10-30 cm long/tall.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, pinnatifid with 3-5 oblanceolate lobes, the blades 1-2 cm long, 4-7 mm wide, stalked, sparsely hairy, the margins fringed.
Flowers: Inflorescence of solitary, stalked axillary flowers; corollas lavender, bell-shaped, 1.5-2 mm long; calyces stiffly-hairy on the margins, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, increasing in size with age, 3-5 mm long at maturity; calyx appendages less than 1 mm long, reflexed.
Fruits: Capsules, 1-2 mm long; seeds usually solitary, 1.8-2.0 mm long, regularly pitted.
1. Leaves alternate; corollas shorter than calyces; seeds usually solitary..................................N. breviflora
1. Leaves opposite, sometimes the upper ones alternate; corollas equalling or surpassing the calyces; seeds 2-8.
2. Calyces with well developed, earlike lobes that are 1-3 mm long at maturity, 1/2-3/4 (or fully) as long as the proper lobes...................................N. pedunculata
2. Calyces with short, earlike lobes that are about 1 mm long at maturity, 1/4-1/2 as long as the proper lobes...............................................N. parviflora
Habitat / Range
Mesic to dry rocky slopes, thickets, grasslands and forest openings in the steppe and montane zones; infrequent in SC and SE BC; E to SW AB and S to CO, UT and CA.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
