annual Jacob's-ladder
Polemonium micranthum Benth.
Polemonium micranthum, known as annual Jacob's-ladder, is a species of flowering plant in the Polemoniaceae family. It is native to western North America and disjunct in the Andes of southern Argentina and Chile. The plant grows in shrubby habitats, including sagebrush scrub and foothill woodlands. It is an annual herb with slender, hairy stems up to 30 cm long and leaves divided into small leaflets. The flowers are small, with white or pale blue lobed corollas enclosed in hairy, pointed sepals.
Description
Polemonium micranthum is found in regions such as British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, as well as in parts of Argentina and Chile. The plant can take a matted, spreading, or upright form. Its stems are coated with short, soft hairs and stalked glands. The leaves are arranged along the stem and are divided into several small leaflets. The solitary flowers feature small, lobed corollas that are white or pale blue and are enclosed within cuplike calyces of hairy, pointed sepals.
Other common names
annual Jacob's-ladderannual polemoniumlittle-bells Jacob's-ladderlittle-bells polemonium
Distribution
British Columbia · Argentina Northwest · Argentina South · California · Chile Central · Chile South · Idaho · Massachusetts · Montana · Nevada · North Dakota · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Utah · Washington · Wyoming
Synonyms
Navarretia gayanaNavarretia diffusaPolemonium gayanumPolemoniella antarcticaPolemoniella gayanumGilia arcuataGilia diffusaGilia gayanaGilia johowiiGilia diffusaPolemoniella micranthaPolemonium antarcticumPolemoniella antarctica f. arcuataPolemoniella antarctica f. diffusaPolemoniella antarctica f. gayanaPolemoniella antarctica f. johowiiPolemoniella antarctica f. typicaPolemoniella antarctica f. violascensPolemonium gayanum var. violascens