Tender bothriospermum is a small, hairy annual with tiny pale blue flowers tucked one by one between its leaves. It is native across East, South, and Central Asia. In the US it grows wild only in Hawaii, on Oʻahu and the Island of Hawaiʻi.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Usually 4–12 in (10–30 cm) tall or long. Leaves are small, simple, and alternate, roughly 5/8–1 1/4 in (1.5–3 cm) long, with bristly hairs.
- Growth form
- A low annual or biennial with many slender, hairy stems that sprawl or curve upward.
- Flowers
- Flowers are pale blue, about 1/8 in (2–3 mm) across, with five rounded lobes. They sit singly in the leaf axils toward the stem tips.
- Fruit
- Each flower produces four tiny, warty about 1/25 in (1 mm) long inside the hairy .
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- roadsides
- fields
- disturbed open ground
- Range
- Native across East, South, and Central Asia. Naturalized in Hawaii, where it was collected on Oʻahu as early as 1909. It is not known from the mainland US.
- Preferred conditions
- In Hawaii it grows in open, disturbed sites at about 1,400–4,000 ft (430–1,220 m) elevation.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Older books often call it Bothriospermum tenellum, which is now treated as the same species. The English name tender bothriospermum comes from that older name.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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