All posts by T. Beth Kinsey

Desert Plants, Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family, Green Arizona Flowers, Green Flowers, Herbs and Forbs, Mountain Plants, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Spring Blooming Plants, Upland Plants, Yellow Arizona Flowers, Yellow Flowers

Euphorbia schizoloba – Mojave Spurge

Euphorbia schizoloba - Mojave Spurge (flowers)

Euphorbia schizoloba - Mojave Spurge

Euphorbia schizoloba - Mojave Spurge

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Euphorbia schizoloba

Synonyms: Euphorbia incisa, E. schizoloba var. mollis, Tithymalus incisa

Common Name: Mojave Spurge

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain. This wildflower grows on dry, rocky or sandy slopes.

Flower Color: Yellow, Yellow-green to lime-green

Flowering Season: Spring

Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm) tall

Description: The inflorescences each have multiple tiny male flowers that are usually in bunches of 5 and surrounded by 4 or 5, fringed, green to yellow, petal-like appendages with scalloped, crescent-shaped glands and a single, central, green, drooping, stalked female flower with a 3-lobed ovary and 3 bilobed styles. The flowers are followed by nodding, oblong, lobed seed capsules containing 3 seeds. The leaves have smooth, entire margins and are light green, sessile or very short-petioled, point-tipped, and either hairless or pubescent-hairy. The darker stem leaves are oblong and generally alternate, while the lighter floral leaves near the stem tips are paired opposite and broadly egg-shaped. The numerous stems are light green, ascending to erect, and either hairless or hairy.

Woodland Spurge (Euphorbia palmeri) is very similar to this species and its variety E. palmeri var. subpubens also has hairy leaves, but it has rounded to more broadly elliptical stem leaves. Other Euphorbia species like Horned Spurge (E. brachycera), Mountain Spurge (E. chamaesula), and Chinese Caps (E. crenulata) only have hairless leaves.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Euphorbiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae – Spurge family
Genus: Euphorbia L. – spurge
Species: Euphorbia schizoloba Engelm. – Mojave spurge

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map

Annuals, Conspicuous Fruit or Cones, Fall Blooming Plants, Herbs and Forbs, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Polygalaceae - Milkwort Family, Purple and Blue Arizona Flowers, Purple and Blue Flowers, Spring Blooming Plants, Subshrubs, Summer Blooming Plants, Upland Plants

Polygala barbeyana – Blue Milkwort

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (flowers)

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (flowers)

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (fruit)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Polygala barbeyana

Synonyms: Polygala longa, P. racemosa, P. reducta, P. tenuiloba

Common Names: Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual, Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland

Flower Color: Violet-blue to purple

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Early fall

Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm) tall

Description: The flowers have 2 light blue to pale purple or green-tinged, petal-like lateral sepals, a darker-tipped, dorsally-cleft, central tube of fused petals, and a non-fringed keel petal. The flowers are followed by flattened, egg-shaped (in outline), light green seed capsules with hairless sides and hairy margins. The seed capsules dry and flatten further to translucent seed disks. The leaves are green, non-glandular, alternate, linear to lance-linear in shape and narrower near the stem tips. The stems are green, branched, and covered in fuzzy hairs.

The similar Velvetseed Milkwort (Polygala obscura) has broader leaves and seed capsules with hairy sides and margins.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Polygalales
Family: Polygalaceae – Milkwort family
Genus: Polygala L. – polygala
Species: Polygala barbeyana Chod. – blue milkwort

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map

Fall Blooming Plants, Herbs and Forbs, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Polygalaceae - Milkwort Family, Spring Blooming Plants, Summer Blooming Plants, Upland Plants, White Arizona Flowers, White Flowers

Polygala scoparioides – Broom Milkwort

Polygala scoparioides - Broom Milkwort (flowers)

Polygala scoparioides - Broom Milkwort

Polygala scoparioides - Broom Milkwort

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Polygala scoparioides

Common Name: Broom Milkwort

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland. This wildflower grows on rocky flats and slopes in desert grasslands and the mountain foothills.

Flower Color: White with often purple or green veins

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall

Height: Up to 1 foot (30 cm) tall

Description: The small flowers are in narrow, spike-like racemes. The individual flowers have 2 solid white or green- to purple-striped wings (petal-like lateral sepals), a dorsally-cleft floral tube composed of 3 fused petals, and a keel with a fringed crest. The flowers are followed by oblong, 2-celled, 2-seeded, thin-walled seed capsules with a single narrow wing on the top side. The many leaves are small, green, alternate, and linear to needle-like in shape with a pointed tip. The numerous, rush-like stems are green, angled, grooved, and covered with minute incurved hairs. The plants are broom-like.

The similar White Milkwort (Polygala alba) has non-winged seed capsules and lower leaves that are usually whorled. Winged Milkwort (P. hemipterocarpa) has hairless stems and seed capsules that are broadly winged on both sides.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Polygalales
Family: Polygalaceae – Milkwort family
Genus: Polygala L. – polygala
Species: Polygala scoparioides Chod. – broom milkwort

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map

Fall Blooming Plants, Herbs and Forbs, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Pink Arizona Flowers, Purple and Blue Arizona Flowers, Purple and Blue Flowers, Summer Blooming Plants, Upland Plants, Verbenaceae - Verbena Family

Verbena gracilis – Fort Huachuca Vervain

Verbena gracilis - Fort Huachuca Vervain, Fort Huachuca Verbena (flowers)

Verbena gracilis - Fort Huachuca Vervain, Fort Huachuca Verbena

Verbena gracilis - Fort Huachuca Vervain, Fort Huachuca Verbena (leaves)

Verbena gracilis - Fort Huachuca Vervain, Fort Huachuca Verbena

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Verbena gracilis

Common Names: Fort Huachuca Vervain, Fort Huachuca Verbena

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland. This relatively inconspicuous wildflower can be found growing on rocky slopes and in canyons, desert grasslands, chaparral, and oak-pine-juniper woodlands.

Flower Color: Lavender, Purplish pink

Flowering Season: Summer, Fall

Height: Up to 20 inches (50 cm) tall

Description: The very small flowers are in long, slender (less than 1 cm wide), erect, minutely stipitate-glandular flower spikes. The individual flowers are tubular and have a 2-lobed upper lip, a 3-lobed lower lip, a somewhat hairy, white throat, and conspicuous, elongated, linear-lanceolate, green floral bracts. The flowers are followed by small, dry seed capsules. The leaves are small, green, hairy, opposite, egg-shaped in outline, and deeply toothed or pinnately lobed. The stems are green, covered with bristly hairs, minutely stipitate-glandular, slender, well-branched, and prostrate, decumbent, or somewhat ascending.

The similar Bigbract Verbena (Verbena bracteata) also has very small flowers and prostrate stems, but it has larger, more leaflike floral bracts, fatter (more than 1 cm wide) flower spikes, and foliage that is not conspicuously glandular.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Verbenaceae – Verbena family
Genus: Verbena L. – vervain
Species: Verbena gracilis Desf. – Fort Huachuca vervain

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map

Desert Plants, Fall Blooming Plants, Herbs and Forbs, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Purple and Blue Arizona Flowers, Purple and Blue Flowers, Spring Blooming Plants, Summer Blooming Plants, Upland Plants, Verbenaceae - Verbena Family

Verbena neomexicana – Hillside Vervain

Verbena neomexicana - Hillside Vervain, Hillside Verbena, New Mexico Verbena (flowers)

Verbena neomexicana - Hillside Vervain, Hillside Verbena, New Mexico Verbena

Verbena neomexicana - Hillside Vervain, Hillside Verbena, New Mexico Verbena (leaves)

Verbena neomexicana - Hillside Vervain, Hillside Verbena, New Mexico Verbena

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Verbena neomexicana

Common Names: Hillside Vervain, Hillside Verbena, New Mexico Verbena

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland. This wildflower grows in desert foothills, canyons, grasslands, and upland areas.

Flower Color: Lavender to purple

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Early fall

Height: Up to 2 1/2 feet (76 cm) tall

Description: The flowers are alternately arranged and spaced so that they mostly do not overlap each other on tall, very slender, densely stipitate-glandular flower spikes with inconspicuous floral bracts. The flowers first begin to open at the base of the flower spikes. The individual flowers are tubular and have a 2-lobed upper lip, a 3-lobed lower lip, and a hairy, white throat. The flowers are followed by dry seed capsules that do not overlap each other on the spikes. The leaves are green, hairy above and below, sparsely stipitate-glandular, opposite, sessile, oblong, and either pinnately lobed or deeply pinnately toothed with 3 to 5 point-tipped teeth or lobes on each side. The stems are green, hairy, stipitate-glandular, slender, erect, and branched.

The very similar Chihuahuan Vervain (Verbena pinetorum) does not have glandular flower spikes or stems. Carolina Vervain (V. carolina) has leaves edged with numerous, smaller teeth. Pinleaf Vervain (V. perennis) has much narrower, linear leaves. Fanleaf Vervain (V. plicata) has much broader leaves. Gulf Vervain (V. xutha) is a much larger plant with more tightly packed flower spikes.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Verbenaceae – Verbena family
Genus: Verbena L. – vervain
Species: Verbena neomexicana (A. Gray) Small – hillside vervain

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map

Asteraceae - Aster Family, Fall Blooming Plants, Herbs and Forbs, Mountain Plants, Native Wildflowers and Plants, Perennials, Summer Blooming Plants, Upland Plants, Yellow Arizona Flowers, Yellow Flowers

Lasianthaea podocephala – San Pedro Daisy

Lasianthaea podocephala - San Pedro Daisy (flower)

Lasianthaea podocephala - San Pedro Daisy (flower showing phyllaries)

Lasianthaea podocephala - San Pedro Daisy

Lasianthaea podocephala - San Pedro Daisy

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Lasianthaea podocephala

Synonyms: Verbesina podocephala, Zexmenia podocephala

Common Name: San Pedro Daisy

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland, Mountain. This attractive wildflower grows in sunny to shady locations in rocky canyons, on slopes, in grassy areas, and in oak woodlands at low to middle elevations in the mountains.

Flower Color: Yellow

Flowering Season: Summer, Fall

Height: Up to 1 foot (60 cm) tall or more

Description: The flower heads have long flower stalks, large, broad, green, hairy phyllaries, bright yellow, elliptical, longitudinally-creased, shallowly-notched rays, and golden yellow disk flowers that are green before opening, giving the young flower heads the appearance of green-eyed daisies. The leaves are green, scabrous (rough-feeling), hispid-hairy (especially below and along the margins), opposite, lance-shaped, and very short petiolate (sessile-appearing). The stems are erect, branched, hispid-hairy, and green to brown in color. The plants have multiple tuberous roots that have been used in traditional herbal medicine.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Lasianthaea DC. – lasianthaea
Species: Lasianthaea podocephala (A. Gray) K. Becker – San Pedro daisy

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map