English: Thurber's stemsucker; Thurber's pilostyles.
Region: southwestern United States, northern Mexico.
Habitat: desert, woodland.
BotanyTiny, dioecious, holoparasitic plant; lives in the stem of woody legume shrubs, often of genus Psorothamnus; lacking roots, leaves, or chlorophyll.
Flowers: tiny; brown or maroon; less than 2 millimeters across, looking like specks on the stem of the host plant; blooming in January, but sometimes as early as November.
Fruit: capsule; over 100 minute seeds.