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 Leaves Frankie Rose @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Covered with fine, straw-colored prickles and some gland-tipped hairs; deeply twice divided leaves with rounded lobes; deep purple to blue flowers which have the same size and shape as tomato plant flowers.
Identification notes: Annual; taproot; stems branching; hairy and prickly; alternate leaves; blades deeply dissected; rounded lobes; flowers clustered at branch tips; 5 lobed, purple to blue; stamens bright yellow; purple-tinged anther on longest stamen.
Height:
12 to 28 inches
Habitat Description: Found on silty, sandy, or gravelly soils of dunes, stream beds, washes, and open hillsides.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Riparian
Elevation: 2000 - 6000 feet
Color:
Purple, blue
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jun - Oct
Description:
Few flowered clusters at branch tips; 3/4 inch long; sepals densely spiny; 5 lobed; 3/4 to 1 inch long; triangular; flowers 3/4 inch diameter; 5-petaled; stamens bright yellow; purple-tinged anther on longest stamen.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Dissected
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
Y
Leaf Description:
Alternate; spine-covered stems and leaf stalks; stalks 1/16 to 1/2 inch long; leaves 1-1/2 to 4-1/4 inches long, deeply dissected, rounded lobes, gland-tipped hairs on upper surface, irregular star-like hairs on lower surface; scattered spines on veins.
Fruit Type: Berry-like
Fruit Notes: Spherical, roughly 1/3 inch in diameter; closely wrapped by the persistent calyx (sepals), which is densely armed with prickles.
Seed Notes: Lens-shaped, 1/8 inch long, dark brown.
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