Plant Name
Scientific Name: Calandrinia ciliata
Common Names: Fringed Redmaids, Red Maids, Desert Rockpurslane
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert. It often grows in sandy washes.
Flower Color: Pink, Pinkish red, White
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 13 inches (33 cm) tall
Description: The flowers have 5 round-tipped petals and are 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wide. The plants are low-growing and succulent with alternate, lance-shaped, often reddish-tipped leaves. The seeds are shiny and black. Birds and rodents enjoy the seeds.
Special Characteristics
Culturally Significant Plant – Native Americans used the seeds to make flour and oily meal. The young greens were eaten like spinach.
Edible – The black seeds and the young greens are edible. The nutritious seeds are high in oil and can be baked and ground into flour. The young greens should be eaten sparingly and cooked to reduce the oxalic acid content.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Portulacaceae – Purslane family
Genus: Calandrinia Kunth – redmaids
Species: Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav.) DC. – fringed redmaids
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