Plant Name
Scientific Name: Bowlesia incana
Synonym: Bowlesia septentrionalis
Common Names: Hoary Bowlesia, Hairy Bowlesia
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert. It is usually found growing in shady spots under rocks, trees, and shrubs.
Flower Color: Inconspicuous (pale greenish white)
Flowering Season: Winter (late), Spring
Height: Trailing up to 2 feet (61 cm) long
Description: The flowers are tiny, have 5 petals, and are borne in the leaf axils. The leaves are bright green, opposite, covered in stellate hairs, broader than they are long, rounded to kidney-shaped, and palmately lobed with 5 to 9 main lobes. The stems are weak, slender, and trailing. The fruit is small, round, and hairy.
This plant can be quite weedy in shaded areas. Although it I could not verify whether Hoary Bowlesia is poisonous or not, it may be undesirable to have it in your yard for not just its weedy properties. One of my dogs developed a strange passion for eating large quantities of this plant, and each time she did so, she ended up with bloody vomit and diarrhea.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae – Carrot family
Genus: Bowlesia Ruiz & Pav. – bowlesia
Species: Bowlesia incana Ruiz & Pav. – hoary bowlesia
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