Purple Owl's Clover
Castilleja exserta
(Orthocarpus purpurascens)
Harquahala Mountains, Arizona, March 2005.
SPRING/ANNUAL: In favorable locations following wet winters this
wildflower will cover vast swaths with vivid magenta contrasting with other
swaths of rainbow-colored flowers. The root systems can penetrate those of
other nearby plants and are parasitic.
Near Aguila, Maricopa County, Arizona on 19 March 2005.
FLOWERS: The actual flowers are rather small; the vivid color is due as much to the pigmented surrounding
bracts and upper leaves as to the flower petals.
LEAVES: Leaves are 'pinnatifid', i.e. they are divided into linear
segments almost to the mid-rib. Leaves and herbage are finely hirsute.
RANGE: Sonoran Desert of Arizona particularly on desert pavement and
relatively flat areas. This species like other members of Castilleja is
variable.
FRUIT: Dry capsules with very small seeds.