Ditaxis lanceolata

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Herbaceous or subshrubby annuals, stems freely branching, silvery-strigose on younger stems, plants with clear sap. Leaves: Alternate, linear to lanceolate or ovate, 1-3 cm long and 8-10 mm wide, margins entire and without gland-tipped teeth, borne on petioles 1-3 cm long. Flowers: Inconspicuous and greenish-white, usually almost enclosed by leafy subtending bracts, flowers staminate and pistillate; staminate flowers with petals hairy and to 4 mm long or more, the claws united to the stamen column, calyx lobes to 4 mm long, pistillate flowers with hairy petals to 4 mm long or less and calyx lobes 4-5 mm long, infloresences subtended by bracts to 1 mm long with entire margins, styles hirsute and bifid, infloresences borne in leaf axils and at stem tips, flowers borne in racemes 6-8 mm long with 1 female flower and several male flowers. Fruits: Capsules to 5 mm long. Seeds to 2 mm long. Ecology: Found on dry soils on rocky slopes, from 350-3,000 ft (106-914 m); flowering February-September. Distribution: Arizona, California; Mexico. Notes: Look for this species in southwestern AZ below the Mogollon Rim, and westward into the deserts of southern CA. It is a subshrubby plant with brittle stems that have woody older growth. Note the leaves which are long and narrow, less than 1 cm wide (the smaller leaves perhaps 3-5 mm wide) and more than twice as long as they are wide; and the fruit which is covered with appressed hairs. Ethnobotany: Unknown. Synonyms: Argythamnia lanceolata, Argythamnia sericophylla var. verrucosemina Editor: LCrumbacher2012 Etymology: Ditaxis comes from the Greek dis, "two," and taxis, "rank," referring to the stamens which are in two whorls, and lanceolata means lance-like, referring to the shape of the leaves.