New Mexico Silverbush
Argythamnia neomexicana
Observed near a recently flooded wash in the Rainbow Valley, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. 12 Sept. 2009.
LEAVES: Leaves are less silvery and more broadly elyptic than leaves of A.
lanceolata; the margins are entire. Sap is clear not milky as in many
Sonoran Desert euphorbs.
FLOWERS: Whitish-green clusters of small flowers occur in the leaf
axils. With magnification notice green flowers with stamens and separate
flowers with a branched stigma. That is the flowers are monoeceous. Flowering
late spring and again in summer if rain happens.
FRUIT: Three-valved capsule borne with obvious, silvery hairs.
HERB: Mostly herbaceous plant rarely reaching
½ meter tall. Rather leafy when moisture is available and may
survive as a perennial from one season to next under ideal conditions.
RANGE: Locally common along washes and at roadsides in the Sonoran
Desert.
UNARMED