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 Flower Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Leaves Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Erect, smooth annual; petal-like appendages white or pink; stems branched from near base; slender branches green or faintly tinged red; stem length between leaves (internodes) 1/2 to 2 inches or occasionally to 2-3/4 inches.
Identification notes: Leaves narrow, opposite, to 2-1/2 inches long, bases symmetrical, margins serrated towards tips, stipules obvious; numerous male flowers in the cup structure holding male and female flowers; ovary and capsule round, hairless; petal-like appendages white.
Height:
4 to 24 inches
Habitat Description: Sandy flats, gravelly washes, rocky hillsides, talus slopes (mass of rock debris at the base of a cliff), desert scrub and grasslands, mesquite woodlands, rarely oak woodlands. One collection in riparian woodland in Yavapai county.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Riparian
Elevation: Below 5000 feet
Color:
White to pink (with age)
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Aug - Oct
Description:
Flower clusters of cup-like structures enclose a single female flower and several male flowers (cyathia); showy, white petal-like appendages, becoming pink with age; bell-shaped base of bracts support flower heads; dense, white, hairs around inner rim.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Opposite
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves narrow, opposite, about 2 inches long with prominent midvein; remotely serrulate (minute, sharp, forward-pointing teeth); edges turn under with age; on short stalks. Leaves and stems have white milky sap.
Fruit Color: Mature white or whitish
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Capsule rounded-triangular in cross-section; egg to ball-shaped and attached at wider end; 1/8 inch diameter; smooth, green when young.
Seed Notes: Seeds light gray to light brown; oval-shaped; slightly 4-angled in cross-section, slightly winged along the angles; the sides smooth but with 2 or 3 well-developed transverse ridges (at a right angle to the length of structure).
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