Yellow Feltplant
Newberry's Velvetmallow

Horsfordia newberryi

Yellow Felt Plant, Horsfordia newberryi, Pen & Ink Illustration © by Michael J. Plagens

Sketched from specimen observed at South Mountain, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 12 April 1993

Yellow Felt Plant, Horsfordia newberryi, stem and bark photo © by Michael J. Plagens

Detail of trunk and bark, White Tank Mts., Maricopa Co., Arizona. 10 Oct. 2015

Lace Bugs, Corythucha, on Yellow Felt Plant, Horsfordia newberryi, stem and bark photo © by Michael J. Plagens

A cluster of Lace Bug (Corythucha) nymphs on the underside of a leaf. White Tank Mts., Maricopa Co., Arizona. 10 Oct. 2015. The stellate (star-shaped) hairs can be seen in the close-up view.

SHRUB: Often with a single woody stem reaching 2 meters tall. The surfaces of mature stems are green-photosynthetic, below left.

LEAVES: Thick, velvety leaves are elliptic to wedge-shaped and have a yellow-green cast. The felty texture is due to star-shaped hairs. Peculiar, disagreeable odor when crushed.

RANGE: Mostly uncommon on rocky bajadas at lower elevations in the Sonoran Desert. Frost sensitive, thus restricted to warmer regions.

FRUIT: A shizocarp consisting of ten or so carpel segments that split open separately revealing seeds. Shown enlarged in the illustration. Eventually each segment separates from the axis with the walls flaring to form little sails to carry the seed away (below).

schizocarps and seeds of Yellow Felt Plant, Horsfordia newberryi, photo © by Michael J. Plagens

The fruit finally divides into a number of segments with dry papery wings. Hedgepeth Hills, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, May 2011.

FLOWERS: Rather small, yellow to orangish, five-petaled mallow flower.

UNARMED.

Malvaceae -- Mallow Family

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Sonoran Desert Field Guide
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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, page created 6 Nov. 2007
updated 11 Oct. 2015