Hackelia diffusa

Hackelia diffusa
Hackelia diffusa flowering near Wenatchee, Washington
Almost ripe nutlets of Hackelia diffusa var. arida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Boraginales
Family:	Boraginaceae
Genus:	Hackelia
Species:	H. diffusa
Binomial name
Hackelia diffusa (Lehm.) I.M.Johnst.
Synonyms [1]
Cynoglossospermum diffusum(Douglas ex Lehm.) Kuntze Echinospermum diffusumDouglas ex Lehm.

Hackelia diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae known by the common name spreading stickseed. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Distribution and habitat

The plant grows east of the Cascades in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. ^[4] Its habitats include rocky cliffs, talus slopes, and shrub steppe. ^[5]

Description

Hackelia diffusa is a perennial herb from 20 to 70 cm (7.9 to 28 in) tall. The lower part of the plant is covered with spreading, stiff hairs, while the upper has appressed hairs. ^[4]

It has an inflorescence of false-racemes with numerous white flowers that have a yellow center. The boom period is from May to July. The fruits are clusters of four nutlets that have marginal and intramarginal prickles. ^[4]

References

1. "Hackelia diffusa (Douglas ex Lehm.) I.M.Johnst". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
2. "Hackelia diffusa (Douglas ex Lehm.) I.M.Johnst". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
3. USDA Plants database, accessed May 20, 2021- https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=HADI2
4. "Burke Herbarium Image Collection". biology.burke.washington.edu.
5. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2022-06-08.