Climbing Wortclub
Boerhavia scandens
(Commicarpus scandens)
The week stems of this perennial are usually supported by those of woodier, larger shrubs.
PERENNIAL HERB: A plant that cannot stand on its own. Stems are woody
towards base and may extend up to two meters
as they ascend up through another shrub that offers support and some shade.
FRUIT: Fruits do indeed resemble miniature clubs coated with sticky
droplets and arranged in an umbell.
RANGE: Uncommon to common from 700 m up to 1500 m on boulder strewn
slopes in the Upper Sonoran Desert and semi-arid habitats of Arizona and
Sonora. The flowers at right were seen in lower Madera Canyon in Sept. 2010.
LEAVES: Elyptic to heart-shaped.
FLOWERS: Small, whitish-yellow or tinged green. They are borne in umbel
shaped cluster on long slender pedicels. Blooming late spring, summer and fall
depending on rainfall.
UNARMED.