Crusea diversifolia

STEMS: 8-35 cm tall, slender scarcely angled, sparingly branched, hirsute with long straight hairs. LEAVES: 2.5-4.5 cm long, lanceolate, conspicuously several-veined, the bases expanded and somewhat sheathing the florescence; stipular sheath short, few-toothed, together with the expanded leaf bases, set with long bristly hairs. FLOWERS: calyx lobes acicular, bristly at base; corolla 7-8 mm long, pink or purple, the tube very slender, the lobes spreading; ovary didymous, nearly glabrous. NUTLETS: glabrous. NOTES: Moist soil in canyon bottoms and hillsides: Cochise, Santa Cruz cos.; 1050-1300 m (3500-4300 ft); Aug-Sep; n Mex. REFERENCES: Dempster, Lauramay T. 1995. Rubiaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Sci. 29(l): 29.

Levin 1995, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Small, herbaceous annuals, to 35 cm tall, stems slender, erect to ascending, simple or sparingly branched, scarcely angled, herbage glabrous to hirsute with long, straight hairs. Leaves: Opposite, sessile, linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or subulate, 2.5-4.5 cm long and to 10 mm wide, conspicuously veined, the bases expanded and somewhat sheathing, stipules few-toothed, occurring together with the expanded leaf bases and set with long bristly hairs Flowers: Small, white, pink or purple, corollas salverform or nearly so, 7-8 mm long, calyx lobes 2-4, conspicuously unequal, needle-like and bristly at the base or foliaceous, sometimes becoming reduced, membranaceous and dry, flowers borne in several terminal or axillary glomerules. Fruits: Glabrous nutlets of 2-4 obovoid or globose capsules, these separating at maturity from the persistent axis. Seeds few to many. Ecology: Found on moist soils in canyon bottoms, hillsides, and in open or wooded areas, from 3,500-4,500 ft (1067-1372 m); flowering August-September. Distribution: Arizona, New Mexico; Mexico. Notes: Older texts (Kearney and Peebles) may have this species split into two synonymous species; C. subulata and C. wrightii, but these have since been merged into C. diversifolia. The small white, purple, or pink flowers appearing to have 4 petals opposite each other look similar to a Galium at first glance. Ethnobotany: Unknown Etymology: The meaning of Crusea is unknown, while diversifolia means with differently shaped leaves. Synonyms: Many, see Tropicos Editor: LCrumbacher 2011