Palmer's Grapplinghook

Harpagonella palmeri

McDowell Mountain Park, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 25 Feb. 2017.

FRUIT: Four or three nutlets each with a straight, curved or bent process. With barbed hooks the fruit resembles a grapplinghook and functions as a burr for dispersing the seeds.

ANNUAL: Mid-spring annual normally not more than 15 cm tall. Normally rather hard to see.


LEAVES: Leaves are lance-shaped or linear and set with silvery pubescence.

RANGE: Spotty distribution in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico. Also ranging into adjacent deserts to the west. Rocky slopes and along washes.

FLOWERS: White flowers are small and rarely are more than a few open at once.

UNARMED. No thorns.

Boraginaceae -- Borage Family

More Information:

• Southwest Environmental Information Network
• Southwest Desert Flora
• USDA Plant Profile
• Encyclopedia of Life
• Google Images
• Google Scholar Literature Search