Sweet Bush
Chuckwalla's Delight
Bebbia juncea
This photo was taken near Avondale, Arizona Oct. 2007. It is an unusually large specimen and is growing adjacent to a dry retention lagoon.
This close-up of a flowering head was taken in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada in May 2007 by Stan Shebs and is hosted at Wikimedia.
SHRUB : Shrubs mostly about a meter
tall. Stems are green and rush-like especially following drought periods when
the leaves are shed.
LEAVES Small, pinnately divided. Plants may be leafless for much of
year. Leaf texture is gritty.
RANGE : Fairly common along washes and roadsides. Sometimes on rocky
slopes.
FLOWERS: Composite heads of yellow disc flowers only. Flowers in late
spring and sporadically through year. After months of droubt, this plant will
sometimes be the only thing blooming, and as such is highly attractive to
butterflies and other insects seeking nectar.
ACHENE: The seeds have a crown of fine bristles.