Tidestromia lanuginosa

Common Name: Wooly Tidestromia
Oˊodham Name: [unknown]
Group: Annuals － 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.

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