Pholisma

The genus Pholisma (Nutt. ex Hook.) consists of three species of desert-dwelling, primarily subterranean plants. Pholisma belongs to the family Boraginaceae.^[1]

Pholisma
Pholisma arenarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Boraginales
Family:	Boraginaceae
Subfamily:	Lennooideae
Genus:	Pholisma Nutt. ex Hook. (1844)
Species[1]
Pholisma arenarium Nutt. Pholisma culiacana (Dressler & Kuijt) Yatsk. Pholisma sonorae (Torr.) Yatsk.
Synonyms[1]
Ammobroma Torr. (1867)

Most notable of the genus is Pholisma sonorae, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The species is without chlorophyll and lives as a parasite on the roots of a number of desert species. Other species include Pholisma arenarium, the "desert Christmas tree", and Pholisma culiacana.