Purple Nama (Nama aretioides)

Purple nama (Nama aretioides) is a small annual flowering plant growing on dry and sandy ground at low elevation in the Great Basin and other parts of the western United States. For example, in the Reno-Sparks area in northwest Nevada, the lower, south-facing slopes of Mount Peavine and the Hidden Valley Regional Park hillsides are good places to find patches of purple nama—usually flowering in May.

The delicately veined, tubular flowers are radially symmetrical with five petals. The corolla is pink-purple at the outside and has a white-yellow central tube. The oblanceolate-shaped leaves are crowded with silver-gray hairs.

Purple nama is also known as ground nama. Depending on the source, this plant species is placed into the waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae) or as a member of the subfamily Hydrophylloideae into the forget-me-not family (Boraginaceae).

Keywords: flora, botany, angiosperms, eudicots, asterids, dry habitat, purple nama mats.

References and more to explore
[1] Ground Name, Purple Nama - Nama aretioides [science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/5petal/water/nama/aretioides.htm].
[2] Calflora, Taxon Report 5745: Nama aretioides (Hook. & Arn.) Brand [www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Nama+aretioides].