Skunktop
Indian Breadroot
Pediomelum mephiticum
Photographed near Mesquite Wash, Maricopa County, Arizona. May 2009. This specimen has completed blooming but the spikes of pods and papery calyx bracts are conspicuous.
PERENNIAL: Entirely herbaceous above ground; regrows each year from
underground root with most of the leaves close to the ground.
FLOWERS: Pale purple flowers often obscured by long calyx lobes.
Clustered into short, dense spike. Blooms April to May.
LEAVES: Palmately compound leaves are silvery on top and have a
distinct, unpleasant odor. There are glands on the leaves which are mostly
hidden by the hairs.
RANGE: Upper elevations of the Sonoran Desert in eastern Maricopa Co.
and ranging north into Utah. Uncommon.
FRUIT: Small bean capsules with one or a few seeds are covered with
silky hairs.
UNARMED. Without thorns.