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 Flowers and fruit David Sussman @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Leaves Sue Carnahan @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant Sue Carnahan @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Fruit Liz Makings @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Stems erect to ascending; smooth, or hairy becoming smooth with age; narrow leaves at right angles to stems; flowers at branch tips; fruits relatively large when compared to rest of plant; foliage may be dark in color, greenish-purplish-reddish.
Identification notes: Stems erect to ascending; leaf blades narrow, margins smooth, 2 to 4 small teeth at tips; 23 to 36 male flowers in 5 clusters surround 1 female flower, styles red; glands green to brownish-red, hairy, appendages narrow, pointed, curving over the glands.
Height:
4 to 30 inches
Habitat Description: Found on dry soils on hot, rocky slopes, along washes, in canyons, in the shelter of small shrubs.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub,
Elevation: 300 - 3500 feet
Color:
Green, brownish-red
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Feb - Oct
Description:
Flowers solitary or a few clustered at branch tips; 23 to 36 male flowers, generally in 5 clusters around a solitary female flower; 3 red styles; 4 to 5 green to brownish-red glands obscured by hairs; 5 to 7 petal-like appendages curving over the glands.
Leaf Color:
Greenish-reddish-purplish
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Alternate, narrow, 3/4 to 3 inches long, 2 to 4 small teeth at pointed tips, margins smooth, surfaces hairy, becoming hairless with age, leaf blades with short stalks and minute, leaf-like appendages at base of stalk; visible midvein.
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Oblong, 3-lobed (the lobes not obvious) capsules, 1/4 inch long, plainly longer than wide, with hairy surfaces.
Seed Notes: Seeds white to gray, 1/4 inch long, flattened top to bottom, 4-angled, wart-like surfaces, irregularly pitted (small depressions) and an obvious caruncle (appendage at seed attachment).
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