Desert Seepweed
Suaeda moquinii
(Suaeda torreyana)
Drawn from live specimens found along the Gila River near Buckeye, Arizona. 29 Aug, 1993. a) cut away view of stem with gallery, b) a pyralid moth was reared from the caterpillar found in the gallery.
RANGE: Found across the Sonoran Desert but only in locations that are
periodically flooded as along rivers or in bosons. Soil is normally alkaline or
saline.
LEAVES: Thick, fleshy leaves are linear to slightly spatulate. Leaves may change to orange, red or even purplish with cold or drought.
FLOWERS: Small, green flowers in branching spikes at the top of the
stems.
SHRUB: Slightly woody shrub, 1 to 2 meters
tall.
FRUIT: Very small capsules containing one seed each.
UNARMED.No spines.
In the illustration at left, one of the main stems is shown in linear-section revealing a hollowed-out pith. The moth shown emerged from the the after the burrowing larva pupated.