Cochlospermum palmatifidum

 

Cochlospermum palmatifidum (saiya) (saya)

Amoreuxia palmatifida 

Bixaceae

  • These herbs rise, after the summer rains, from a perennial tuberous rootstock and persist above ground less than three months The orange flower cluster above o between the hand-shaped leaves. Lacking nectar but still showy, the five petals have brown spots at their bases and numerous stamens, which drop their pollen when bees buzz or vibrate their wings nearby. Every part of the plant is edible, from parsnip-like roots to seed capsules which are used as coffee substitute. Found in hills and canyons from 3, 000 to 6, 000 feet, it flowers July through September. "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988"
  • This root perennial responds to summer rains and is dormant during the rest of the year. Tuber-like, succulent roots are commonly 20 to 30 cm long. The flowers are bright orange-yellow, ca 5 cm across; the capsule is ovoid, greenish, 3-4 cm long, and fleshy until the seeds ripen, at which time it dries and splits. The seeds are kidney-shaped, black, and about 4 to 5 mm long. It is found on rocky slopes on mountains and foothills from near El Desemboque to Guaymas, and on Sierra Kunkaak. Often locally abundant. A noteworthy population occurs with wild teparies on steep, rocky, north-facing slopes near the tepary gathering camp on Tiburon Island. Adornment: the seeds were strung for necklaces. Food: the root was an important food resource and was especially significant to the people living in the interior of Tiburon Island. It was dug a digging stick. The root was eaten raw, boiled with meat, or toasted lightly in the fire. The root was savored with honey, or mule deer or turtle fat. The uncooked root was said to taste like jicama. Bark from the root was cooked like beans, with mule deer or green turtle fat. The buds, flowers, and tender young fruit also were eaten fresh or cooked with mule deer fat and bones. In times of hunger, such as when walking in the desert, a mother sometimes gave slices of the dried strung root to her child to eat. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri People. Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser."

Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas más populares de este blog

Lupinus arizonicus

Imagen
  Lupinus arizonicus (Arizona lupine) ( ) Fabaceae Arizona lupine is one of the most common and conspicuous desert lupines when it blooms in sandy washes and open creosote bush scrub below 3,000 feet in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Its is particularly abundant in spring along roadsides. Although an annual, Arizona lupine is a robust plant that is typically 1-2 feet in height. Its stems and the underside of its green leaflets have long, spreading hairs. The purple flowers have a yellowish spot on each of the banners, which are the two petals that spread horizontally. "California Native Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann."
Leer más

Asteraceae

Imagen
Asteraceae The most diverse and ecologically significant family of woody and semi-woody shrubs in creosote bush scrub is the sunflower family. Globally Asteraceae is second only to the Orchidaceae in number of species. Memers of the Asteraceae family are challenging to identify until one becomes familiar with flower structures. The essential feature defining the Asteraceae is the presence of composite flower heads that typically include numerous tiny flowers joined in what, at first, resembles a single large flower-as seen in a familiar sunflower. The typical composite flower head is composed of two types of flowers, although either one of these types may be absent in some genera. The outer whorl of flowers in a typical composite head has three petals fused to form what appears to be a single large petal, while the other two petals are absent. These fused petals of the ray flowers, or ligules, are the attractive structures for pollinators. Ray flowers are almost always female. The inne...
Leer más

Geraea canescens

  Geraea canescens (desert suflower) ( ) Asteraceae Desert sunflower is a close relative of Encelia that can provide massive displays of yellow across the central and eastern Mojave Desert. Typically this species covers sandy flats under creosote bush scrub at elevations below about 4,000 feet. Its leaves and stems are covered with soft hairs and it displays broad radiate flower heads about ¾ inches in diameter. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann." This fuzzy-leaved, hairy-headed-sunflower reaches heights of two feet in gravelly washes and sandy flats within the lower desert areas. Its large, yellow radiate heads are both showy and aromatic, attracting both bees and hummingbird-moths. Bees that gather its nectar daily also use even-primrose pollen. Desert sunflowers tolerate some disturbance and active sand movement in dune fields below 3, 000 feet in elevation. Flowering is most obvious in early April but may extend from Janua...
Leer más