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 Leaves Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant with fruit capsules Harvard University Herbaria @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Biennial or annual
General Desc:
Biennial or short-lived perennial with mostly smooth stems and many branches above. Small, narrow leaves clasp the stem. Longer leaves form a rosette at the plant base. Small flowers, often purple, grow in elongated clusters that are showy when in bloom.
Identification notes: Stems not hairy towards base; leaves clasp the stem; sepals purple, erect; petals 4, usually purple to light purple, rarely white, clawed (narrower at base); flower stalks slender; anthers narrow; stigmas 2-lobed.
Height:
Up to about 3-1/3 feet
Habitat Description: Dry, rocky hillsides, pinyon-juniper woodlands, desert shrub communities.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland
Elevation: 2000 - 6000 feet
Color:
Purple to light purple, white (rarely)
Shape:
Regular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Mar - Jun
Description:
Flower has 4 petals, a cross-like shape and is about 1/2 inch long. Below each flower are 4 erect, purple, leaf-like sepals much shorter than the petals. Flowers grow at the top of a loose to compact stalk and are showy, often having a deep purple color.
Leaf Color:
Green, bluish-green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
Stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Basal leaves form a rosette at the ground level. They grow up to 6 inches long, have a rounded tip, taper at the base with tooth-like margins and a short stalk. Stem (caluline) leaves have a lance-like shape with no leafstalk often with a smooth margin.
Fruit Type: Pod
Fruit Notes: Fruit is a silique, a narrow, 3x longer than wide pod 2 inches long. It grows on a stalk (stipe) about 1/4 inch long, is swollen and constricted at intervals growing upward as it develops. The fruit is 2-parted and splits open from both sides when ripe.
Seed Notes: Seeds are dark brown, plump, less than 1/16 of an inch and have an oval to oblong shape. The seed coat has a minute web-like vein pattern on its surface. Rows of seeds are divided by a thin, wall-like partition in the fruit.
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