Part 20

GREEN

Common names: ALLTHORN, CROWN-OF-THORNS, CRUCIFIXION-THORN, (CORONA-DE-CRISTO) Arizona desert: (Koeberlinia spinosa). Greenish. May-June. California desert: (Holacantha emoryi). Yellow-green. June-July. Texas desert: (Koeberlinia spinosa). Greenish. May-June. Koeberlinia is Junco family. Holacantha is Simaruba family. Size: From 2 to 10 feet high.

Two intricately branched, thorny shrubs with green bark and leaves reduced to small scales and otherwise resembling each other are both popularly known by the names of Crown-of-thorns and Crucifixion-thorn, although they are not closely related botanically.

Flowers of both are small and inconspicuous, although when the bushes are in full bloom, they are quite noticeable. Even so, it is the unusual and eye-arresting appearance of these shrubs which appear as leafless masses of robust thorns, making them a conspicuous feature of the desert and arousing the interest and curiosity of observers.

In some locations these shrubs are sufficiently abundant to form thickets which repel livestock. Fruits of H. emoryi remain on the plant for years, and it is usually possible to identify each season’s fruit clusters by the degree of weathering. These masses of brown to black fruits are very noticeable and are often mistaken for parasitic growths or the results of a disease. A somewhat similar shrub, sometimes attaining tree size and superficially resembling the Paloverde (see p. 36), is the Mohave-thorn (Canotia holocantha). It is found at elevations between 2,500 and 4,500 feet, over much of southern and western Arizona and northern Sonora, and blossoms from May to August.

Common names: BUR-SAGE, BURROWEED, BURROBUSH Arizona desert: (Franseria deltoidea). Greenish. December-April. California desert: (Franseria dumosa). Greenish. April-November. Sunflower family. Size: Up to 3 feet high.

Noticeable because of its ashy foliage, Bur-sage is a low, rounded, white-barked shrub, the several species of which are very common on the dry plains and mesas up to 3,000 feet. The flowers are small, without petals, and colorless inasmuch as they are wind-pollenated and do not need to attract insects.

It is classed by A. A. Nichol as one of the major plants of the Paloverde-Bur-sage-Cacti plant association, one of the three plant communities of the Sonoran Desert.

Bur-sage is one of the favorite foods of burros and sheep, and is said to be preferred also by horses.

GREEN

Common names: INKWEED, SEEPWEED, IODINEBUSH, (QUELITE-SALADO) Arizona and Texas deserts: (Suaeda suffrutescens). Greenish. March-July. California desert: (Suaeda torreyana). Greenish. July-September. Goosefoot family. Size: Up to 6 feet tall, and branching.

Seepweed, which is usually an indicator of alkaline soil, is browsed to some extent by cattle when other feed is scarce. The young plants are used for greens by the Pimas and other desert Indians, sometimes eaten with cactus fruits. Pinole was made by roasting the seeds. Coahuila Indians extracted from the plants a black dye which they used in art work.

Flowers of the Seepweed are small, greenish, and without petals. Since the pollen is carried by the wind, color to attract insects to the flowers is not necessary. Because of its tolerance for somewhat salty or alkaline soils, Seepweed thrives along the margins of dry lakes and on salt flats where moisture is near the surface. On the desert of southern California it is often associated with Mesquite and Quailbrush, the sooty-green to brown plants standing out in sharp contrast.

Because it is so common in moist locations throughout the Southwest, and sufficiently unusual in appearance to arouse curiosity as to its identity, Seepweed is included in this publication regardless of the fact that its flowers are small and inconspicuous.

GREEN

REFERENCES

Benson, Lyman; and Darrow, Robert: A Manual of Southwestern Trees and Shrubs; University of Arizona, 1944.

Benson, Lyman: The Cacti of Arizona; University of Arizona, Second Edition, 1950.

Black, Homer: Common and Larger Plants Near the Cavern Entrance; Carlsbad Caverns National Park; mss. 1944.

Cooper, Norman C.: Check List of Plants of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; mss. 1942.

Jaeger, Edmund C.: Desert Wildflowers; Stanford University Press, Revised Edition, 1944.

Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature: Standardized Plant Names; Second Edition, 1942.

Kearney, Thomas H.; and Peebles, Robert H.: Flowering Plants and Ferns of Arizona; Government Printing Office, 1942.

McDougall, W. B.: Vegetation of White Sands National Monument; mss. 1939.

McDougall, W. B.: Check List of the Plants of Death Valley National Monument; mimeo. 1945.

McDougall, W. B.; and Sperry, Omer E.: Plants of Big Bend National Park; Government Printing Office, 1951.

Nichol, A. A.: The Natural Vegetation of Arizona; University of Arizona Technical Bulletin No. 68, 1937.

Shantz, H. L.; and Piemeisel, R. L.: Indicator Significance of the Natural Vegetation of the Southwestern Desert Region; Government Printing Office, 1925.