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Chilopsis linearis  

No occurrences found

Family: Bignoniaceae
desert willow
Chilopsis linearis image
Max Licher
  • VPAP
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JANAS 32(1)
Plant: Tree, 2-9 m tall Leaves: leaves mostly alternate, simple, linear to linear lanceolate, arcuate, drooping, (8-)10-18(-25) cm long, 2-8(13) mm wide INFLORESCENCE: terminal racemes or panicles Flowers: with white throat, the outside pink, lavender to magenta; calyx bilabiate, pubescent; corolla tubular-campanulate, glabrous outside, with gland-tipped hairs below stamen insertion, with simple hairs 1-3 mm long in the throat; anthers 2-3 mm long; staminode 4-10 mm long, sometimes with an aborted anther Fruit: capsules, linear, terete, 13-32 cm long; SEEDS winged by free or basally fused hairs Misc: Sandy washes; 400-1900 m (1300-6200 ft.); Mar-Sep References: Mason, Charles T., Jr. 1999. Bignoniaceae. Ariz.-Nev. Acad. Sci. 32(1).
Kearney and Peebles 1970, Allred and Ivey 2012, VPAP (Mason 1999)
Common Name: desert willow Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Tree Wetland Status: FACU General: Small tree or large shrub, reaching 10 m tall at maturity; bark is dark and ridged on older stems. Leaves: Deciduous; whorled, opposite or alternate, sessile or with short petioles; blades linear to linear-lanceolate, less than 1 cm wide and up to 30 cm long, gradually narrowed at both ends, with entire margins, glabrous, often viscid surfaces, and a single distinct vein visible on the leaf underside. Flowers: Showy, 2-lipped, white tinged or streaked with pink or purple, 2-4 cm long and nearly as wide; pendant in terminal racemes or panicles, these up to 30 cm long. Fruits: Capsules long and slender, 10-20 cm long and 6 mm diameter, splitting longitudinally along 2 suture lines and releasing numerous flat seeds with a tuft of hairs on either end; two halves of the capsule persist on the branches through winter. Ecology: Found along dry washes and on the high terraces of river floodplains in the low deserts and foothills, below 5,500 ft (1740 m); flowers April-August. Distribution: s CA, s NV, s UT, AZ, s NM, KS, TX, OK, GA; south to n MEX. Notes: Diagnostic characters of this desert riparian tree are its very long slender leaves; long, slender seed pod which releases seeds that have tufts of hairs on both ends; and the strikingly beautiful bilabiate pink to lavender flowers. Arizona material belongs to var. arcuata, which is characterized by its strongly arcuate (curved into an arch-shape) leaves. New Mexico has ssp. arcuata as well as var. linearis, which has straight or slightly curved leaves. Ethnobotany: Havasupai used in basketry; Hualapai used to make cradleboards; curanderas in Mexico use it to treat coughing, indigestion, and skin and vaginal infections. Etymology: Chilopsis is from the Greek cheilos, a lip, and -opsis, resemblance, referring to the 2-lipped flower; linearis refers to the linear leaves. Synonyms: None Editor: AHazelton 2015, AHazelton 2017
Chilopsis linearis
Open Interactive Map
Chilopsis linearis image
Max Licher
Chilopsis linearis image
Max Licher
Chilopsis linearis image
Anthony Mendoza
Chilopsis linearis image
L.R. Landrum
Chilopsis linearis image
L.R. Landrum
Chilopsis linearis image
L.R. Landrum
Chilopsis linearis image
Gregory Gust
Chilopsis linearis image
Gregory Gust
Chilopsis linearis image
Patrick Alexander
Chilopsis linearis image
Patrick Alexander
Chilopsis linearis image
Liz Makings
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NSF NEON | Open Data to Understand our Ecosystems The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.