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Spreading alkaliweed

Cressa truxillensis

Also called Alkali Weed

Spreading alkaliweed
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0

A small perennial subshrub in the morning-glory family that grows in salty or alkaline soils such as beaches, desert flats and playas. Give it full sun, sharp drainage and only occasional water once established.

Family
Convolvulaceae (Morning-glory family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out between waterings; it tolerates drought once established.
Soil
Sandy or gritty mix; tolerates saline and alkaline soils.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 5 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
W. & C. U.S.A. to Mexico, Ecuador to S. South America
Climate
subtropical

About

Cressa truxillensis is a species of flowering plant in the morning glory family known by the common name spreading alkaliweed. It is native to the western United States and Mexico, where it grows in habitat with saline or alkaline soils, such as beaches, desert flats, and playas.

This is a perennial herb producing an erect stem with many branches up to about 25 cm (10 in) tall. The clump of stems is densely lined with silky hairs and studded with many small hairy oval leaves, each under a centimeter long. Flowers appear in the axils of the uppermost leaves. Each has a white corolla with five pointed lobes surrounded by hairy green sepals. There are five protruding stamens and two styles.

Other Cressa plants

Cretan Alkaliweed · Alkaliweed

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cressa truxillensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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