Psorothamnus schottii

PLANT : Shrubs, divaricately branched, less than 2 m tall; branches sparsely canescent; glands inconspicuous. LEAVES : persistent, simple (rarely 3-foliate), linear, 2.5-6.0 mm long, 1.1-2.0 mm wide, canescent above, glabrous below, glanddotted. FLOWERS : in a lax, open raceme, 1-9 cm long; calyx teeth 0.5-0.8 mm long, much shorter than tube. FRUIT : 7-10 mm long, glabrous, puberulent and densely covered with discrete glands at apex. NOTES : Gravelly benches and washes: Yuma Co. (Fig. 2C); 45-90 m (150-300 ft); Nov-May. Colorado Desert in CA; Baja C., Mex. Psorothamnus schottii is broadly sympatric with P. emoryi but they generally inhabit very different habitats. They can easily be distinguished by coloration (P. emoryi is hoary white and P. schottii is green) and leaves (pinnately compound in P. emoryi vs. simple or rarely 3-foliate in P. schottii). REFERENCES : Rhodes, Suzanne, June Beasley and Tina Ayers. 2011. Fabaceae. CANOTIA 7: 1-13.