Biorepository Data Portal

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual, 30-60 cm tall; stems erect, simple to branched; herbage mostly glabrous, glaucous; taprooted. Leaves: Mostly cauline, alternate, palmately 5-7 foliate, the leaflets oblong, oblanceolate, or lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, up to 1 cm wide, glabrous or nearly so, glaucous, margins entire; petioles 1-5 cm long, the upper blades nearly sessile. Flowers: Inflorescence spike-like, the flowers solitary, arising in the leaf axils, each subtended by a pair of bracts, the bracts tipped with a sharp, abrupt point; calyx segments 5, each with a prominent membranous wing; petals absent; flowers July-September. Fruits: Capsule, 1-4 cm long, arising on stipes 10-20 mm long; seeds ovoid to nearly orbicular, 2 mm long, brownish black or mottled with light gray. Ecology: Sparsely vegetated sites, hills, streambanks, disturbed habitats, pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine communities; 600-2100 m (2000-7000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai counties; western Notes: The Navajo use this plant to treat ant bites. Synonyms: Several, see Tropicos Editor: Springer et al. 2008