Microsteris gracilis

Wilken and Porter 2005

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual with 1-3 erect stems, 3-15 cm tall, often branched below, the lower stems ascending or spreading. Leaves: Linear to elliptic or narrowly oblanceolate, pubescent and glandular, 1-2 cm long, 2-5 mm wide. Flowers: Terminal inflorescence of 1-2 flowers, subsessile to pedicelled at tips of terminal branches, sometimes axillary, pedicels glandular; calyx 3-8 mm long; corolla white to bluish lavender, the throat sometimes yellow tinged, the tube 4-8 mm long, the lobes 1-2 mm long, obtuse to retuse; stamens inserted on the upper tube and throat; stigmas located among the lower stamens. Fruits: Ovoid to ellipsoid capsule splits open when mature, leaving a recognizable tan, star-shaped feature. Ecology: Found on open, sandy to gravelly sites from 1000-8,000 ft (305-2438 m); flowers March-August. Notes: Very small spring annual that is very abundant in some years. Ethnobotany: Applied to wounds and bruises, sores on body, as a mouthwash for sores, and on bruised or sore legs. Etymology: Microsteris comes from Greek mikros, small and aster, start, while gracilis means slender or graceful. Synonyms: There is uncertainty about this subspecies. Editor: SBuckley, 2010