   The Chocolate Flower - November 3, 1999 Nora Graf, Yavapai County Master Gardener Would you like to be greeted in the morning with the luscious smell of chocolate in your garden? Then plant Chocolate Flowers, Berlandiera lyrata (also known as Little Green Eyes). When the flowers open they give off the intense aroma of chocolate. When the plant is in full flower, the smell can make you believe you are standing in a chocolate factory! The plant is native to the south and west, growing in New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Arizona and Mexico. It is found in higher elevations from 4000 to 7000 feet. Except that mine grows exceptionally well at Camp Verde's elevation of 3100 feet. Chocolate flower is a perennial that can reseed itself. The deeply lobed leaves are a fuzzy pale green about 5 ½ inches long. The plant starts as a basal rosette and forms clumps creating a thick but low plant, generally around a foot and half tall. The flowers form on longer stalks above the leaves. This is a member of the Compositae (sunflower) family so it has some resemblance to other member of the family, but it looks a bit disheveled as compared to most of its other relatives. The eight petals (ray flowers) are yellow with the cent (disk flowers) are maroon. While the petals are attached evenly around the center, they have somewhat uneven appearance. The flowers bloom first thing in the morning from June through October. They are very reliable bloomers. When the flowers go to seed a very attractive seed "pod" forms. The overlapping dry green sepals/ bracts create an interesting effect. The disc flowers in the center turn green also giving it a second name "Little Green Eyes". They can be cut and used in dried flower arrangements. The seeds for this plant are widely available these days and easy to start. Plants can also be found. Seeds can be planted like other wildflower seeds. Once started it is self-sowing so you'll never be without, but it is not invasive. It is very drought tolerant and lives quite lushly on the rainfall in Camp Verde with an occasional hose watering which I doubt it really needs except in extreme drought conditions. In the wild, this plant is found along the roadside and often in association with Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) and bush penstemon (Penstermon ambiguous). Chocolate Flower is a great addition to a desert landscape. Place it near where you walk as in the morning. There is nothing better to breath in the fresh smell of chocolate before you go to work. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on native and low water use landscape plants. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. |