Purple Owl's Clover
Castilleja exserta
(Orthocarpus purpurascens)
This specimen was photographed near the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona, March 2005. The image is hosted by Wikimedia
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.
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
highly variable and hybridizes with other species.
FRUIT: Dry capsules with very small seeds.