Plant: annual, 2.5-13 dm, ± glabrous; Stem branched from upper nodes

Leaves: 1-palmate, alternate; leaflets generally 5, 1.5-6 cm, linear to elliptic; petiole 5-45 mm

INFLORESCENCE: raceme, terminal, generally 1-4 cm in flower, generally 5-40 cm in fruit; pedicels 4-20 mm

Flowers: sepals fused in basal half, persistent, 1.6-2.6 mm, lanceolate, minutely dentate, yellow; petals 5-8 mm, oblong to ovate, yellow; stamens 10-20 mm, yellow, anthers 1.9-2.6 mm

Fruit: 15-40 mm, 2-5 mm wide, ± round in transverse section, striate; receptacle 5-17 mm; Seeds 10-40

Misc: Dry, sandy flats, desert scrub, weedy roadsides; 1100-2400 m.; May-Aug

References: Kearney & Peebles; Arizona Flora. McDougall; Seed plants of Northern Arizona. ASU specimans.

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Annual, 30-60 cm tall; stems erect, simple to branched; herbage mostly glabrous, glaucous; taprooted.

Leaves: Mostly cauline, alternate, palmately 5-7 foliate, the leaflets oblong, oblanceolate, or lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, up to 1 cm wide, glabrous or nearly so, glaucous, margins entire; petioles 1-5 cm long, the upper blades nearly sessile.

Flowers: Inflorescence spike-like, the flowers solitary, arising in the leaf axils, each subtended by a pair of bracts, the bracts tipped with a sharp, abrupt point; calyx segments 5, each with a prominent membranous wing; petals absent; flowers July-September.

Fruits: Capsule, 1-4 cm long, arising on stipes 10-20 mm long; seeds ovoid to nearly orbicular, 2 mm long, brownish black or mottled with light gray.

Ecology: Sparsely vegetated sites, hills, streambanks, disturbed habitats, pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine communities; 600-2100 m (2000-7000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai counties; western

Notes: The Navajo use this plant to treat ant bites.

Synonyms: Several, see Tropicos

Editor: Springer et al. 2008