| Mojave indigo bush | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Psorothamnus |
| Species: | P. arborescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Psorothamnus arborescens | |
Psorothamnus arborescens is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Mojave indigo bush.
Psorothamnus arborescens is native to southwestern North America, where it can be found in many types of desert and dry mountainous habitats. It grows at 100–1,900 metres (330–6,230 ft) in elevation. [1]
It is found in the Californian Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert, south into the Sonoran Desert in the Mexican state of Sonora, east past the Sierra Nevada into the Nevada Great Basin desert, and west into the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. [1] [2] Also found in northwest Arizona in the Joshua Tree National Forest.
Psorothamnus arborescens is a shrub growing no more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall, its highly branching stems sometimes with thorns. The leaves are each made up of a few pairs of green linear to oval leaflets up to a centimeter in length. [1]
The inflorescence is a long raceme of many flowers with reddish green calyces of sepals and bright purple pealike corollas up to a centimeter long.
The fruit is a glandular legume pod up to a centimeter long containing one seed. The seed pod is the only way to tell the difference between P. arborescens and the very similar species, P. fremontii . [3]
The varieties of this species are generally similar in appearance but more restricted in distribution:
Delphinium parishii, the desert larkspur, is a flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to the Mojave Desert, in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. In Southern California it is also found in the Tehachapi Mountains, Transverse Ranges, and eastern Sierra Nevada.
Dalea searlsiae, commonly known as Searls' prairie clover, is a perennial legume species belonging to the Dalea genus. The species is found through arid regions of the southwestern United States and can survive in low moisture conditions. The species forms symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that can improve soil nutrient levels. Its large inflorescence attracts many species of pollinators, and it lacks toxins found in similar legume species. As a result, the species has been considered for use in rangeland restoration and revegetation projects.
Psorothamnus spinosus, or Delea spinosa, is a perennial legume tree of the deserts in North America. Common names include smokethorn, smoketree, smoke tree, smokethorn dalea, and corona de Cristo.
Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus, Desert barrel cactus, and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann in 1853.
Psorothamnus is a genus of plants in the legume family. These are shrubs and small trees. Many are known by the general common name indigo bush. Some are referred to as daleas, as this genus was once included in genus Dalea. These are generally thorny, thickly branched, strongly scented bushes. Most species bear lupinlike raceme inflorescences of bright purple legume flowers and gland-rich pods. Psorothamnus species are native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The genus is paraphyletic and it has been proposed that the genus Psorodendron be reinstated to accommodate sections Xylodalea, Capnodendron, and Winnemucca.
Dalea mollis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family which is known by the common name hairy prairie clover.
Dalea mollissima is a desert wildflower plant in the legume family (Fabaceae), with the common names soft prairie clover, downy dalea, and silk dalea.
Lycium andersonii is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its common names include water-jacket, redberry desert-thorn, Anderson thornbush, Anderson's desert thorn, Anderson boxthorn, Anderson lycium, Anderson wolfberry, and squawberry.
Eschscholzia glyptosperma is a species of poppy known by the common names desert gold poppy, desert golden poppy, and Mojave poppy.
Condea emoryi, the desert lavender, is a large, multi-stemmed shrub species of flowering plant in Lamiaceae, the mint family.
Psorothamnus emoryi, common names dyebush, white dalea, or Emory's indigo bush, is a perennial legume shrub or subshrub common to the desert mesas of the southern part of the U.S. states of Arizona and California, and regions of the Mexican state of Baja California.
Psorothamnus fremontii, the Fremont's dalea or Fremont's indigo bush is a perennial legume shrub.
Stipa parishii, formerly classified as Achnatherum parishii, is a species of grass known by the common name Parish's needlegrass. The Jepson Manual 2nd edition (2012) reclassified the plant as Stipa parishii var. parishii.
Acmispon argophyllus, synonym Lotus argophyllus, is a species of legume native to California and northwest Mexico. It is known by the common name silver bird's-foot trefoil or silver lotus.
Pilostyles thurberi is a species of endoparasitic flowering plant known by the common names Thurber's stemsucker and Thurber's pilostyles. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in desert and woodland. In the United States, P. thurberi has been recorded from the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas.
Populus fremontii, commonly known as Frémont's cottonwood, is a cottonwood native to riparian zones of the Southwestern United States and northern through central Mexico. It is one of three species in Populus sect. Aigeiros. The tree was named after 19th-century American explorer and pathfinder John C. Frémont.
Psorothamnus polydenius is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Nevada dalea and Nevada indigobush. It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States from the Mojave Desert in California to Utah.
Psorothamnus schottii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Schott's dalea. It is native to the Sonoran Deserts of northern Mexico and adjacent sections of Arizona and the Colorado Desert in California.
Xylorhiza tortifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names Mojave-aster and Mojave woodyaster.
Purshia glandulosa is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names antelope bitterbrush, desert bitterbrush, Mojave antelope brush.