White Fiesta Flower, White Fiestaflower
Pholistoma membranaceum
Color: White
Common name: White Fiesta Flower, White Fiestaflower
Latin name: Pholistoma membranaceum
Family: HYDROPHYLLACEAE
Height: 2-35 inches
Description: Pholistoma membranaceum is an annual herb with a waxy, fleshy, bristly stem and branching profusely, sometimes forming a tangle. The inflorescence bears 2 to 10 flowers each under a centimeter wide. The flower is white, usually with a purple spot or streak on each of its five lobes.
Leaf: The leaves are deeply lobed or cut and borne on winged stalks. The foliage is coated in hairs.
Range: Desert, c&s Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi Mountain Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Western California, Southwestern California
Habitat: Desert washes, beaches, bluffs, ravines, wooded slopes
Elevation: 40–1400 m.
Flowering time: Mar–May
Notes: Pholistoma membranaceum is a dicot that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: Baja California. This photo was taken on April 6, 2005 in the Providence Mountains, Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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