Ambrosia salsola

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Ambrosia salsola
Hymenoclea salsola close.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ambrosia
Species:
A. salsola
Binomial name
Ambrosia salsola
(Torr. & A.Gray) Strother & B.G. Baldwin
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Ambrosia salsola var. fasciculata (A.Nelson) Strother & B.G.Baldwin
  • Ambrosia salsola var. pentalepis (Rydb.) Strother & B.G.Baldwin
  • Hymenoclea fasciculata A.Nelson
  • Hymenoclea pentalepis Rydb.
  • Hymenoclea salsola'' Torr. & A. Gray
  • Hymenoclea salsola var. fasciculata (Nelson) K.M.Peterson & W.W.Payne
  • Hymenoclea salsola var. patula (A.Nelson) K.M.Peterson & W.W.Payne
  • Hymenoclea salsola var. pentalepis (Rydb.) L.D.Benson

Ambrosia salsola,[3] commonly called cheesebush, winged ragweed, burrobush,[4] white burrobrush,[citation needed] and desert pearl,[citation needed] is a species of perennial shrub in the sunflower family native to deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.[5]

This species, notable for its foul smell, easily hybridizes with the white bur-sage (Ambrosia dumosa).[5]

Range and habitat[]

It is common on sandy desert flats, desert dry washes, and is weedy in disturbed sites in creosote bush scrub, shadscale scrub, , and Pinyon juniper woodland, ranging from Inyo County, California, to northwestern Mexico.[5]

It grows in sandy and gravelly soil, and sometimes on lava formations at elevations of 200–1,800 m (660–5,910 ft).[6][7]

It is native to the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah) and northwestern Mexico (Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur), where it is a common plant of the local deserts, where it thrives on sandy soil, alkaline environments, and disturbed sites.[4][8]

Growth pattern[]

It is typically 2' to 3' in height.[5] It drops about half of its leaves and some of its twigs in hot, dry summer conditions (drought deciduous).[5]

Ambrosia salsola is a shrub sometimes attaining a height of 150 cm (59 in).[9][10][11][12]

This is a perennial shrub which forms a sprawling bush up to eight feet high.[4]

Leaves and stems[]

It has thin stems and narrow, needlelike leaves. Leaves are narrow and needlelike (linear),[5] thread-like (filiform),[9][10][11] sometimes up to 65 mm (2.6 in) long but a mere 1.5 mm (0.059 in) across.[9][10][11]

The foliage and stem tips have a foul, pungent, cheese-like scent when crushed, a trait which gives the plant the common name "cheesebush".[5]

Inflorescence, fruits, seeds[]

It flowers from March to June.[5] Numerous small, cuplike male flowers grow in -like clusters above the female heads growing in the leaf axils.[5]

All female (Pistillate) flower heads contain only one flower,[4] while all male (staminate) heads may contain 5–15 flowers.[9][10][11]

It is covered in plentiful white or yellow flowers and then pearly, winged fruits in white, yellow, or pink.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Tropicos
  2. ^ The Plant List
  3. ^ Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 314
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 12, Burrobush, Ambrosia salsola (Torrey & A. Gray) Strother & B. G. Baldwin, Madroño. 49: 143. 2002.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 263
  6. ^ Flora of North America v 21 p 12.
  7. ^ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
  8. ^ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Strother, John Lance & Baldwin, Bruce G. Madroño 49(3): 143. 2002.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Torrey, John, & Asa Gray. 1849. Plantae Fendlerianae Novi-Mexicanae, an account of a collection of plants made chiefly in the vicinity of Santa Fé, New Mexico. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Science, new series 4(1):1-116.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Forrest Shreve, & Ira Loren Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert. Stanford University Press.
  12. ^ Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.

External links[]

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