Saw-toothed Ditaxis
Yuma Silverbush
Ditaxis serrata
(Argythamnia serrata)
Drawn from live specimen observed in the Gila Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona. 28 Feb 1994. At lower right: inflorescence with two female flowers and an array of much smaller male flowers on a spike above the females.
RANGE: Restricted to the very hot, almost frost-free sections of the
Lower Colorado Sonoran Desert. Fairly common in the mountain ranges of Yuma
County, but turns dormant after extended drought.
LEAVES: Leaves are stiff and are sharply serrate. Prominent parallel
veins.
PERENNIAL: A low, tough, few-leaved, mostly herbaceous sub-shrub.
ARMED. The leaves are stiff and the margins lightly spine-tipped.
FLOWERS: Small and without showy petals. Much larger female flowers
arranged on a spike below the males. See illustration. Blooms in response to rainfall.
FRUIT: Dry three-sided capsule.