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Sonoran Desert Acanthus

Mostly shrubby perennials; some subshrubs, few annuals. Simple, opposite leaves. Flowers usu. bilaterally symetrical - two lipped & with four stamens. Fruit becoming a dried capsule with seeds that are thrown out at maturity by spring-like stalks.

Desert Honeysuckle

Anisacanthus thurberi

Chuparosa

Justicia californica

Watercolor Illustration © by Mike Plagens

Woody shrub with red tubular flowers highly attractive to hummingbirds. Canyons along western and southern portions of the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Photo © by Mike Plagens

Medium to large shrub found at scattered locations along washes and canyons in the Sonoran Desert. Leaves heart shaped. May become almost leafless with green photosynthetic stems. Red tubular flowers. Detailed Description

Carlowrightia

Carlowrightia arizonica

 

 

Pen & Ink Illustration © by Mike Plagens

Low, slightly woody plant of rocky slopes in the Sonoran Desert. Mostly uncommon. Small, white, bilaterally symetrical flowers. Leaves opposite. Detailed Description

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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2008