Anisacanthus thurberi – Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (orange flowers)

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (red flowers)

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (orange-yellow flowers)

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (orange-brown flowers)

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (orange flower)Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (seeds)

Anisacanthus thurberi - Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa (red flowers)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Anisacanthus thurberi

Common Names: Thurber's Desert Honeysuckle, Chuparosa

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Deciduous

Growth Habit: Shrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland, Riparian. It grows in sandy washes and rocky canyons.

Flower Color: Orange, Red, Orange-yellow, Orange-brown

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer

Height: To 6 feet (1.8 m) tall

Description: The flowers are tubular, 2 inches (5 cm) long, and have 4 curling lobes, 2 stamens, and a long, white pistil. The flowers bloom sporadically throughout the warm part of the year. The leaves are green, short-stemmed, lanceolate to elliptical in shape, and either opposite each other or in clusters on the stiff, woody stems.

Special Characteristics

Hummingbird Flower – The flowers attract hummingbirds.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Acanthaceae – Acanthus family
Genus: Anisacanthus Nees – desert honeysuckle
Species: Anisacanthus thurberi (Torr.) A. Gray – Thurber's desert honeysuckle

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map