Fagonia laevis

 Fagonia laevis (California fagonia) ( )

Zygophyllaceae

  • California fagonia is a smal shrub up to three feet in height that is widespread at elevations below 2, 000 feet, most notably in the Sonoran Desert area. The intricate branching architecture and semisucculent stems, along with purple flowers in spring, make this species easy to recognize. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann."
  • Facepaint materials: For yellow color, the herbage is used. These low, spreading, perennial herbs have small, unpleasant spines and tri-foliate leaves. Fagonia occurs on dt rocky slopes and the desert floor on the mainland and Tiburon Island. Facepaint: a yellow pigment was obtained by grinding the stem tips (probably with the leaves) with a liquid prepared by boiling the flowers of Ferocactus wislizenii. A bright green, or chartreuse, facepaint was obtained by crushing the plant on a metate, squeezing the juice through a white cloth into a large clamshell, and allowing it to dry. To use it, a tiny bit of water was added. When mixed with a small amount of sugar, it became brighter green. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians, Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser". 

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