Plant Name
Scientific Name: Polanisia dodecandra
Common Names: Redwhisker Clammyweed, Red-whisker Clammyweed, Roughseed Clammyweed, Clammy-weed
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Riparian. This weedy wildflower grows in dry, sandy washes.
Flower Color: White to cream
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Height: To 3 feet (91 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are in terminal clusters. The individual flowers are 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) across and have 4 white, spoon-shaped, clawed petals on the top side of the flower, a bright orange nectary, and up to 20 long, reddish to red-purple stamens (the red "whiskers"). The flowers are followed by erect, elongated, cylindrical seed capsules. The leaves are light green, hairy, sticky, coldly clammy to the touch, and trifoliate with 3 lanceolate or elliptic leaflets. The stems are hairy, upright, and branched.
Special Characteristics
Foul-smelling – The glandular-hairy foliage has a strong, weird, unpleasant smell.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Capparales
Family: Capparaceae – Caper family
Genus: Polanisia Raf. – clammyweed
Species: Polanisia dodecandra (L.) DC. – redwhisker clammyweed
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