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 Flowers Castle Hot Springs RdSue Smith |  Basal leaves Castle Hot Springs RdSue Smith |  Leaf Castle Hot Springs RdSue Smith |  Plant - summer Castle Hot Springs RdSue Smith | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Annual with 1 to several erect, mostly leafless, solitary flower stalks of 4 to 24 inches tall. Emits a spicy odor. Flowers are borne in dense whorls along the stems.
Identification notes: Annual with 1 to several mostly leafless stems, leaves primarily basal and dissected. Flower petals are blue or light purple (lavender) and not helmet-shaped or hood-like. Stamens clearly projecting beyond the tube and limb of the petals.
Height:
To 2 feet
Habitat Description: Found on sandy, gravelly, or rarely clay soil on slopes, common in sandy washes.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands
Elevation: Below 4000 feet
Color:
Pale to deep blue, light purple
Shape:
Irregular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - May
Description:
1 to 3 head-shaped clusters arranged around the flower stems; petals blue, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, upper lip small and notched at top, lower with small lateral lobes; sepals 1/2 inch long, purplish, the upper lip about 3 times as long as lower.
Leaf Color:
Dark green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and opposite
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Stems simple or branched, 4 to 24 inches long; more or less grayish due to a covering of short hairs. Leaves basal and on lower part of the stem, oblong to egg-shaped in outline, once or twice cleft, divided into toothed divisions, 3/4 to 4 inches long.
Fruit Color: Gray to light brown
Fruit Type: Nutlet
Fruit Notes: Nutlets about 1/16 inch long, dark gray mottled with brown.
Seed Notes: Flower produces up to 13 tiny, flat seeds less than 1/16 inch long.
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