Mohavea confertiflora
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{for|other plants known as "ghosts"|Ghost plant}}
{{Expand French|topic=scitech|date=November 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Mohavea confertiflora 1.jpg
|genus = Mohavea
|species = confertiflora
|authority = (Benth.) A.Heller
}}
Mohavea confertiflora, the ghost flower, is a plant of the family Plantaginaceae. It is a native of the Southwestern United States, southern California, and three states of northwest Mexico.[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7177,7454,7456 Jepson] . accessed 10.20.2011
It is found growing in the arid conditions of the Mojave Desert and the Sonoran Desert (including Colorado Desert), below {{convert|1000|m|ft}} in elevation. It also grows in those deserts' sky islands habitats.
Description
File:Mohavea confertiflora close.jpg
Mohavea confertiflora is an annual herb growing up to {{Convert|2|ft|m|abbr=off}} tall.{{Cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MOCO |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=www.wildflower.org}} It flowers March to April. This flower, which does not produce nectar, has adapted a morphology resembling the flower Mentzelia involucrata, which often grows in the same habitat. Mentzelia involucrata produces nectar to attract female bees of the genus Xeralictus.
In areas where their ranges overlap, Mohavea confertifolia attracts the same pollinators to its flowers through floral mimicry: Mohavea flowers contain marks that resemble female Xeralictus; these marks operate as a sign stimulus to the male bee, which enters the flower and in doing so pollinates the Mohavea.[http://entmuseum.ucr.edu/bug_spotlight/posted%20Images-pages/33.htm entmuseum.ucr.edu: bug spotlight - images-pages/33]
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Mohavea confertiflora}}
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7177,7454,7456 Jepson Manual Treatment]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Mohavea+confertiflora Photo gallery]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3319117}}
Category:Flora of the California desert regions
Category:Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Category:Flora of Baja California
Category:Flora of Baja California Sur
Category:Natural history of the Colorado Desert
Category:Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Plantaginaceae-stub}}