Plant Name
Scientific Name: Boerhavia scandens
Synonym: Commicarpus scandens
Common Names: Climbing Wartclub, Bush Spiderling
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Vine, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. It is usually found growing in shady spots under trees in rocky canyons.
Flower Color: Pale green
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Height: To 6.6 feet (2 m) tall
Description: The 5-lobed flowers are clustered in 2.4 inch (6 cm) wide umbels of 4 to 11 flowers. The leaves are green, triangular to heart-shaped, and opposite with leaf pairs of unequal sizes. The stems are sprawling or climbing and usually tangled in other plants.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nyctaginaceae – Four o'clock family
Genus: Boerhavia L. – spiderling
Species: Boerhavia scandens L. – climbing wartclub
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