Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
A low growing, weak-stemmed plant with twice compound leaves. It reproduces by seed or underground tubers and the tuberous roots can eventually forms large colonies. Identification notes: Creeping rhizomes; several stems; twice compound leaves; herbage with occasional stalked reddish glands and sparse, short white hairs; stems pedicels and flowers with stalked glands; herbage, flowers and fruits without black glands.
Height:
4 to 12 inches Habitat
Habitat Description: Desert and uplands. Also found in bare, disturbed areas. Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Disturbed Areas Elevation: 1000 - 5000 feet Flower Characteristics
Color:
Yellow to reddish-yellow
Shape:
Irregular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - Sep Description:
Flowers pea-like, up to 1 inch wide and have 5 spoon-shaped, red-spotted, glandular, yellow petals. Flowers are attached by short stems equal distances along a central stem.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal
Leaves Clasp:
N Hairs:
No
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
The leaves are twice compound with tiny, oval opposite leaflets. The stems are red and glandular. Leaves emerge at the base of the plant. Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit Color: Green turning to brown Fruit Type: Pod Fruit Notes: Curved pods like beans. Seed Notes: Dark reddish-brown seeds that are smooth and egg-shaped, up to 1/8 inch long.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590