Part 17

Quite showy when in flower, these common roadside plants attract considerable attention during the late spring and summer. Some species become troublesome in cultivated fields and are difficult to eradicate. An alkaloid, solanin, reported as present in the leaves and unripe fruits of several species, renders them poisonous. Pima Indians add the crushed berries of S. elaeagnofolium to milk in making cheese.

The yellow-flowered S. rostratum is heavily covered with spines, including both stems and fruit, giving it the name of Buffalobur. This species is said to be the original host of the now widespread pest, the Colorado Potato Beetle.

PURPLE

Common names: WILD-HELIOTROPE, QUAILPLANT, CHINESE-PUSLEY Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Heliotropium curassavicum). Purple. March-April. Borage family. Size: Spreading, weak stems up to 18 inches.

Widely distributed on salty and alkaline soils throughout the warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere, there are several species and varieties of Wild-heliotrope. The flowers, which are almost white, shading to a pale purple in the corolla throat, open as the spike uncoils, perfuming the desert air with their fragrance. The name “Pusley” which is applied to this plant in some localities is possibly a corruption of “Purslane.”

Pima Indians are reported to powder the dried roots of these plants, applying the dust to wounds or sores. The name “Wild-heliotrope” is also applied to another desert flower, Phacelia crenulata (which see), causing no little confusion.

PURPLE

Common names: ARROWWEED, MARSH-FLEABANE Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (Pluchea sericea). Roseate purple. Spring. Sunflower family. Size: Perennial, 3 to 10 feet tall.

Seldom found above 3,000 feet elevation, the rank-smelling Arrowweed forms dense, willow-like thickets in stream beds and in moist, saline soils. It is common in moist locations from Texas to southern Utah and south into California and Mexico; usually in pure, dense stands.

The green foliage gives off an agreeable odor, but when the plant dries this becomes rank and unpleasant, clinging to the plant long after it has been cut. This odor is often a characteristic of native dwellings where Arrowweed has been used as a ceiling mat above the rafters.

Arrowweed is browsed by deer, and sometimes by horses and cattle. The straight stems were used by Indians in making arrowshafts, and are still important as a construction material in the walls and roofs of mud huts. The stems are used, also, by desert Indians in basketmaking, and in fabricating storage bins and animal cages. From the foliage of the stem tips, Pima Indians brewed a tea which they used as an eye wash.

The flowers are reported to furnish considerable nectar gathered by Honeybees. The blossoms are inconspicuous and develop into tawny-tufted seed-heads.

PURPLE

Common name: MONKEYFLOWER Arizona and California deserts: (Mimulus bigelovi). Red-purple. February-April. Texas desert: (Mimulus glabratus). Yellow. June. Figwort family. Size: Branching, creeping annual up to 8 inches.

Disproportionately large flowers for the size of the low-growing, small-leafed plant make it particularly conspicuous in the open, sandy locations where it blossoms in the springtime.

Although the Monkeyflower is usually thought of as moisture-loving, there are a number of desert species. The flowers are quite easy to recognize, as they closely resemble the Monkeyflowers which grow in the moist places surrounding seeps and springs, and they also are somewhat similar in appearance to their close relatives the Snapdragons and Pentstemons.

The desert species are well worthy of consideration for cultivation as garden ornamentals.

PURPLE

Common names: PURPLEMAT, PURPLE ROLL-LEAF Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Nama demissum). Red-purple. March-May. Waterleaf family. Size: Tiny plant, an inch or so high.

Although the plants are very small, they grow close together and the blossoms are often quite large in comparison. The reddish-purple color of the flowers stands out in sharp contrast to the green of spring vegetation so that a widespread growth of the plants forms patches or mats of colorful desert carpeting.

Masses of the plants are usually found on open flats, often among Creosotebush, and on either clay or sandy soils. In dry years, growth is restricted and a tiny plant may bear but a single flower, the blossom sometimes almost as large as the rest of the plant.

PURPLE

Common names: SPIDERLING, WEST INDIAN BOERHAAVIA Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Boerhaavia caribaea). Red-purple. May-September. Four-o’clock family. Size: Trailing stems up to 4 feet in length.

A common roadside perennial, Spiderling becomes an annoying garden weed when it invades open fields and areas of cultivation. Its trailing stems and sticky foliage interfere with tillage. The flowers are small but numerous and grow in attractive, colorful clusters. This species is widely distributed, not only throughout the deserts of the Southwest, but also in tropical and subtropical America.

In addition to B. caribaea, other species of Boerhaavia are widespread throughout areas of the Southwest below 5,500 feet elevations. The plants usually grow where they are exposed to full sunlight, although sometimes found in open brushlands, and reach full flower in late summer and autumn months.

PURPLE

Common names: OWLCLOVER, (ESCOBITA) Arizona and California deserts: (Orthocarpus purpurascens). Red-purple. March-May. Figwort family. Size: 4 to 8 inches high.

This short, leafy annual ranging in color from rich velvet red to purple is noticeable even as an individual plant, but, following winters of above average rainfall, it often grows en masse, covering portions of the desert floor with a carpet of bright purple; sometimes in pure stands, often mixed with Goldpoppy, Lupine, and other spring flowers.