Canaigre
Rumex hymenosepalus
Photographed along Cow Creek in the Bradshaw Mountains at 650m elevation, Yavapai Co., Arizona. February 2015.
LEAVES: Large, somewhat succulent and leathery leaves emerge in early spring with the largest leaves close to ground. Margins entire and petioles tinged red like rhubarb.
PERENNIAL: Above ground portion entirely herbaceous while underground roots survive through the hot summer and the cold winter. Leaves shoot up very early in spring even as mornings remain frosty.
FLOWERS: Small green flowers in densely packed terminal spikes are soon obscured by enlarged, reddish, hyaline bracts. Depending on temperatures blooms from February to April.
FRUIT: Single seeded fruits are three-sided like other buckwheats.
RANGE: Grows in silty or sandy alluvium adjacent to streams or washes at the middle to upper elevations of the Sonoran Desert.
UNARMED