Lechea

{{short description|Genus of flowering plants in the rock rose family Cistaceae}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Lechea mucronata 90943540.jpg

| image_caption = Lechea mucronata

| taxon = Lechea

| authority = Kalm (1753)

| synonyms =

• Gaura {{small|Lam. (1792), nom. illeg.}}
• Horanthes {{small|Raf. (1838)}}
• Lechidium {{small|Spach (1837)}}

|synonyms_ref = {{cite web |title=Lechea Kalm |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327628-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=19 September 2024}}

}}

Lechea (pinweed) is a genus in the family Cistaceae of the order Malvales.USDA, NRCS. 2014. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 1 December 2014). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. The genus contains about 18 species referred to as "pinweeds" primarily in eastern North America. Most are low-growing herbs with narrow leaves and many small flowers that resemble pinheads.[http://www.phytoneuron.net/2013Phytoneuron/99PhytoN-LecheaAlabama.pdf "Key to the pinweeds (Lechea, Cistaceae) of Alabama and adjacent states"]. Spaulding, D.D. (2013). Phytoneuron 2013-99: 1–15. Published 11 December 2013.{{ISSN|2153-733X}}

Linnaeus named the genus Lechea for Swedish botanist Johan Leche (1704–1764), who taught in Finland and is regarded as the father of Finnish meteorology and space research, based on his documentation of the northern lights and early measurements of air temperature in collaboration with Anders Celsius.[https://guides.nynhp.org/slender-pinweed/ New York Natural Heritage Program. 2016. Online Conservation Guide for Lechea tenuifolia.]