Scientific Family
Boraginaceae
Other common names
bloodweed
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
1 to 1-1/2 feet
Riparian
No
Annual herb with an erect stem arising from a basal rosette. The plant is coated in long, rough, sharp hairs. The herbage leaks a staining purple juice when crushed.
White flowers; nutlets 4 or fewer are attached by a raised or rounded scar at their basal end; nutlets erect without barbed appendages; stigmas are head-like; leaves with a purple dye at least at the midrib and margins.
Habitat
Dry, coarse soils in desert scrub, chaparral or pinyon juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
7000
Flower Characteristics
The flowers are small, tubular, 5-lobed and borne in hairy, terminal-coiling flower cymes.
Flower color
White to yellowish
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
The leaves are dull green to gray, narrow and up to 1-1/2 inches long. They are usually hairy or bristly.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green to gray
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
Yes
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
2 to 4 nutlets per flower.
Fruit type
Nutlet
Fruit color
Brownish
Nutlets are tiny and arched in form.