Tidestromia lanuginosa

Common Name: Wooly Tidestromia
Oˊodham Name: [unknown]
Group: Forbs － Desert (upland)

Description

Tidestromia lanuginosa appears soon after the first heavy Monsoon rains, quickly forming mats that can cover large expanses of previously barren ground. The wooly leaves have a dense covering of white hairs. The red stems also are covered with fine white hairs. Tiny yellow flowers are formed in the leaf axils and are quite inconspicuous, measuring only a few mm wide. The small, shallow root system enables rapid growth to flowering size. It grows in sandy soils at 2500 to 4000 feet elevation.

Tidestromia lanuginosa

leaves
flower and hairs

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Caryophyllidae

Order Caryophyllales

Family Amaranthaceae － Amaranth family

Genus Tidestromia Standl. － honeysweet

Species Tidestromia lanuginosa (Nutt.) Standl. － woolly tidestromia

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map