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 Flowers Granite Mtn - Tr 308Sue Smith |  Leaves Granite Mtn - Tr 308Sue Smith |  Plant - summer Willow Dells TrSue Smith |  Plant - summer Granite Mtn - Tr 308Sue Smith |  Seed pods Commerce Dr, PrescottSue Smith |  Seeds Commerce Dr, PrescottSue Smith |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
Grows in clumps or patches with very narrow leaves in whorls and bearing white, star-like flowers in round clusters. A very abundant plant in Northern Arizona. Queen and Monarch butterfly caterpillars eat the toxic leaves with no ill effect.
Identification notes: Many stemmed, erect perennial; leaves whorled, 3 or more per node, narrow, hairless on both surfaces, margins curved backwards; head-like flower clusters, 5 greenish-white petals with whitish to yellow horn-like appendages (hoods); fruit stems erect.
Height:
6 inches to 4 feet
Habitat Description: Grasslands and montane; among grasses, sandy or rocky flats, slopes, roadsides, along trails.
Plant Communities:
Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 2500 - 8000 feet
Color:
White to greenish-white
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
May - Sep
Description:
Rounded, 1 to 2 inches wide clusters of 1/2 inch wide white to cream, sometimes greenish-purple flowers; 5-parted flowers include sepals, petals, a crown (corona) arising from the middle of the petals, upright hoods that look like petals and horns.
Leaf Color:
Dark green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Whorl
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
No
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Thread-like leaves, 5 inches long, with rolled edges; leaves in whorls of 3 to 5 at stem joints.
Fruit Color: Brown
Fruit Type: Pod
Fruit Notes: Erect, slender flattened pod, 4 inches long.
Seed Notes: Each flat brown seed has a tuft of silky hairs.
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