Arch-nutted Comb Bur

Pectocarya platycarpa

Photograph of fruit on live specimen found at Robbins Butte, Arizona, March 9, 2008. Actual size is about 7 mm

SPRING ANNUAL: Ephemeral spring annual appearing in the Sonoran Desert late Dec. to early April depending on moisture.

FLOWERS: Minute, five-petaled, white flowers in small clusters.

FRUIT: Four slightly curved nutlets with broad, fleshy bur appendages. Compare with the burr of similar Arch-nutted Comb Bur -- Pectocarya recurvata.

LEAVES: Linear and grass-like.

STEMS: Entirely herbaceous and ephemeral usu. less than 10 cm tall.

RANGE: Less common than Arch-nutted Comb Bur -- Pectocarya recurvata, but found across the Sonoran Desert on rocky slopes and flats in similar situations.

Boraginaceae -- Borage Family

More Information:

• Jepson Manual
• USDA Plant Profile
• ITIS Taxonomic Treatment
• Google Images
• Google Scholar Literature Search