Red Maids
Calandrinia ciliata
Photographed on Vulture Peak, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. March 2008. The American 10c coin is for scale.
ANNUAL: Annual that appears in early spring after good winter rains. Grows
outward with stems laying on soil to maybe 40 cm
in diameter.
FLOWERS: Small flowers are bright magenta with five points, barely
15 mm dia. Unopened flowers are enclosed by two green sepals -
a very good character to check for identification. Occasionally plants with
more or fewer petals or even white petals are found.
LEAVES: Succulent leaves are alternate on succulent stems and elliptic to
linear in shape. The stems and leaves change to orange-red as they begin to dry
out.
RANGE: Fairly common on rocky slopes and wash banks throughout the
Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico but seen only every few years when rains
are good.
FRUIT: Dry capsule with many black seeds opening by three sutures.
UNARMED. No thorns.
Some flowers are white rather than red-pink. Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. 02 Feb. 2020.