White Ratany
Krameria grayi
Photographed near Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. May 4, 2008.
Close-up of flower showing five large sepals, three very small and narrow flag petals. One of the two, darker, purple-colored gland-petals can be seen.. Photographed near Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. May 4, 2008.
SHRUB: Woody shrub mostly less than one
meter tall, sometimes sprawling. The Kramerias are
apparently root parasites, tapping their roots into the roots of other shrubs'
root systems for water and minerals. The young twigs appear whitish due to
copious pubescence.
FLOWERS: Gaudy pink-purple flowers have a very unique structure. The
sepals are colored and appear to be the petals. Above them are three tiny 'flag
petals' - in this species the three are not joined along their claws. Then on
either side of the stamen-pistal column are two, dark purple, gland-like
structures which seem to be derived from the two remaining petals (most rosids
have five petals total).
FRUIT: A football-shaped capsule with an array of barbed, but flexible
spines. Similar to Range Ratany, however, the small to minute barbs are in a
cluster near the tip of the spine.
ARMED. Twigs are barely spine-like and are unlikely to draw blood at
all.
LEAVES: Leaves are elyptic to linear and covered with more-or-less dense
white pubescence. Alternate or sometimes appearing fascicled. Deciduous after
hard frost or extreme drought.
RANGE: Frequent throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico on
rocky slopes and to a lesser extent, desert flats.
Krameriaceae -- Ratany Family
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The oddities of this plant are extended to its pollination by bees that gather oil from the purple glands rather than nectar.