Explore 8 Unique Southwestern Plants: From Golden Poppy to Fremont Cottonwood

1. Plant List 4 (8 plants this week)

2. Golden Poppy(Eschscholtzia mexicana) • Poppy family = Four petals, a lot of pollen-making stamen & many ovaries • Yellow-orange flower and long fruit • Leaves are only slightly bigger than the main veins

5. Spiderling(Boehaavia coccinea) • Four O’Clock Family = 5-lobed flowers in clusters • Sticky unevenly heart-shaped leaves in pairs • Sticky burrs are the fruit • Sprawling on ground

8. Manzanita(Arctostaphylos pungens) • Heather Family (woody, 5-petals, blueberry is part of this family) • Bush with reddish bark on younger branches • Stiff tear-drop shaped leaves with pointed tip • Whitish urn-shaped flowers, dark berries

11. Madrone(Arbutus arizonica) • Heather Family (woody, 5-petals, blueberry is part of this family) • Large tree with reddish bark/new branches • Long leathery leaves (3-6”), dark green, sometime with teeth on the edge • Urn-shaped flowers & reddish berries

14. Desert Globemallow(Sphaeralcea ambigua) • Mallow Family (see next section) • Orange flowers with 5 petals and a fused tube of pollen-making stamen, about 1” across • Large triangular leaves with wavy edges and covered with silver hairs

17. Other Mallow spp. • Mallow Family = All mallow flowers • 5 petals (distinct), and 5 sepals (green part below the flower • Many pollen-making stamen fused into a tube • Tip of the female part of the flower sticks up through the tube • Fruit is a dry, sectioned circle

21. Hackberry(Celtis pallida) • Elm Family • Thick bush with thin veins and small, oval-shaped leaves (less than 1.5”) • May have a few teeth, may not • Branches zig-zag, thorns • Tasty orange berries

24. Cottonwood, Fremont(Populus fremontii) • Willow Family = woody (droopy) trees • Toothed leaves almost as wide at the base as they are long (like an equilateral triangle) • Tall with pale brown bark • White, fuzzy fruit on female tree

27. Plant List 4 • Gold Poppy (Eschscholtzia mexicana) • Spiderling (Boehaavia coccinea) • Madrone (Arbutus arizonica) • Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) • Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) • Other Mallow spp. • Hackberry (Celtis pallida) • Cottonwood, Fremont (Populus fremontii)

28. Plant List 5 (7 plants this week)

29. Rattlesnake Weed(Euphorbia albomarginata) • (Euphorbia family) • Small, ground cover plant • Four small white petals, purple inner portion to the petal • Poisonous weed with milky sap

32. Limber Bush(Jatropha cardiophylla) • (Euphorbia family) • Flexible reddish stick, usually leafless • “Sangre de Cristo” • “Dragon’s Blood” • Heart-shaped leaves during rainy season • “Heart-Leafed Limberbush”

35. Jojoba(Simmondsia chinensis) • (Euphorbia/Spurge family) • Blue-green oval leathery leaves, often in pairs & vertical • Male: small, yellow pollen flowers w/o petals • Female: make dark oily “nut”

38. London Rocket*(Sisymbrium irio) • Mustard family – 4 petals in a “cross” shape, seed pod with two layers • Leaves with jagged edges from plant base • Tiny yellow flowers on tip of long seed stalk • Long seed pods

41. Shepherd’s Purse*(Capsella bursa-pastoris) • Mustard family – 4 petals in a “cross” shape, seed pod with two layers • Leaves with jagged edges from plant base • Tiny pink flowers on tip of long seed stalk • Heart-shaped seed pods

44. Desert Mistletoe(Phoradendron californicum) • Mistletoe family – poisonous parasite plant with green branches and berries • Very brittle, knobby twigs • Found on legume trees (trees that make bean-pods like mesquite, acacia or palo verde) • RED coloration (twig & berry)

47. Other Mistletoe(Phoradendron spp.) • Mistletoe family – poisonous parasite plant with green branches and berries • Very brittle, knobby, oval leaves • Found many long-living trees • Oak, hackberry, juniper, pine

50. Plant List 6 (7 plants this week)