Arizona Cottontop
Digitaria californica
(Trichachne californica)
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Photographed near Camp Creek, Maricopa Co., Arizona. August 3, 2008.
PERENNIAL: The flowering culms rise to well over a
meter. Tufted, i.e. many growing shoots emerge from the tough root
stock.
UNARMED
LEAVES: Narrow leaves are less than ½ cm
wide.
RANGE: Frequent throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico at
roadsides and on rocky slopes/bajadas. Obscure until after summer rains when
the flowering begins. Also found at elevations above the Sonoran Desert and through the Chihuahuan Desert to Texas.
FRUIT: The grains are subtended by silky-haired bracts.
FLOWERS: Silky hairs make for an attractive inflorescence. Blooms mid to
late summer after summer rains have started.