Plant Name
Scientific Name: Proboscidea althaeifolia
Synonyms: Martynia althaeifolia, M. arenaria, Proboscidea arenaria
Common Names: Desert Unicorn-plant, Golden Devil's Claw
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert. This summer wildflower grows in dry, sandy, open areas.
Flower Color: Golden yellow
Flowering Season: Summer. It blooms after the summer monsoon rains have begun.
Height: Trailing to 2 feet (61 cm) long
Description: The flowers are broadly tubular, up to 1 3/4 inches (4.4 cm) wide, and have 5 ruffled, partly reflexed lobes and a red-spotted and red-lined throat. The flowers are followed by long, green, tapered fruit with a single curved "horn" that splits in half when dry to form 2 woody "claws". The leaves have scalloped edges and are green, hairy, lobed, and round to kidney-shaped. The stems are pale brownish, hairy, decumbent, and spreading. The plants are covered in sticky hairs.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Pedaliaceae – Sesame family
Genus: Proboscidea Schmidel – unicorn-plant
Species: Proboscidea althaeifolia (Benth.) Decne. – desert unicorn-plant
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