consists of three species of desert-dwelling, primarily subterranean plants.

Pholisma belongs to the family Boraginaceae.

[1] 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.