# Nama hispida

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***Nama hispida*** is an [annual](/source/Annual_plant) [flowering plant](/source/Flowering_plant) in the family [Namaceae](/source/Namaceae).[1] Common names include **sand bells**, **rough nama**, and **bristly nama**. It is native to the American [desert southwest](/source/Southwestern_United_States) and throughout northern and central [Mexico](/source/Mexico).[2]

## Description

*Nama hispida* is an [annual](/source/Annual_plant) herb growing 5-30 centimeters tall. The stems are erect to ascending and may further spread with age. The leaves are alternate, slightly broader at the tip and can be 1-7 centimeters long. The leaf bases narrow into a winged [petiole](/source/Petiole_(botany)), but the upper leaves are smaller and [sessile](/source/Sessility_(botany)). All the foliage is [pubescent](/source/Pubescence_(botany)).[2]

The [flowers](/source/Flower) are bright purple, lavender, or pink, and arranged in small clusters at branch tips or they are solitary in [leaf axils](/source/Leaf_axil). The [calyces](/source/Sepal) have 5 lobes and are divided nearly to the base. The [corolla](/source/Corolla_(botany)) has a funnel to bell shape, 5 lobes, and is roughly 8-15 millimeters long and nearly as wide at the top. The [fruit](/source/Fruit) is a [capsule](/source/Capsule_(fruit)) with many tiny [seeds](/source/Seed).[2]

## Distribution

*Nama hispida* occurs in the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico, largely throughout the [Chihuahuan Desert](/source/Chihuahuan_Desert). Its range extends from [California](/source/California) east to [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma) and [Texas](/source/Texas). The distribution continues south into [Baja](/source/Baja_California) and mainland Mexico, until the state of [Veracruz](/source/Veracruz). [1]

## Ecology

*Nama hispida* is frequently, though not exclusively found on gypsum soils.[3]

[Halictid](/source/Halictidae) bees of the genera [Sphecodosoma](/source/Sphecodosoma) and [Conanthalictus](/source/Conanthalictus) have been reported as frequent pollinators of *N.hispida*.[4]

## Uses

*Nama hispida* has been used by the [Navajo](/source/Navajo) to treat spider bites.[5]

## Similar species

- *[Nama demissa](/source/Nama_demissa)* purple mat

## References

1. 0001066608. Retrieved 2026-03-10.

1. [SEINet Arizona-New Mexico chapter - Nama hispida. Retrieved 2026-01-05.](https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxauthid=1&taxon=2035&clid=2751)

1. Taylor, Sarah (2012). [*Molecular Systematics and the Origins of Gypsophily in Nama L. (Boraginaceae)*](https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/items/574fb051-55ce-4d98-a22c-1a3b30802b18) (PhD). Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin. [Archived](http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5752) 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-04-01.

1. Tyrl, Ronald J.; Erteeb, Fathi B.; Bruner, Joe L.; Ezell, Wayland L.; Estes, James R.; Grummer, Bruce (1984). ["A Biosystematic Study of the Relationship of Nama hispidum and Nama stevensii (Hydrophyllaceae)"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3670988?seq=8). *The Southwestern Naturalist*. **29** (4): 367–375. [doi:10.2307/3670988](https://doi.org/10.2307/3670988). [ISSN 0038-4909](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0038-4909). Retrieved 2026-04-01.

1. Moerman, Daniel E. (2009). [*Native American medicinal plants : an ethnobotanical dictionary*](https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanme0000moer/page/8/mode/2up). Portland, Or. : Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-035-4. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

## External links

- [Nama hispidum – Bristly Nama– Wildflowers of Tucson, Arizona](https://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1666/nama-hispidum-bristly-nama/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nama hispida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nama_hispida) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nama_hispida?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.