Blue Fiesta Flower
Pholistoma auritum
Photographed in Maricopa Co., Arizona by Lauria Nessel. February 29, 2008
This image is hosted at the Wikimedia Commons. The minute hooks can be seen in this enlarged view.
ANNUAL : Slender spring annual that clambers up and through small shrubs
and other plants. The stems have minute grappling hooks along their length that
help maintain the plant's high position amongst the profusion of growth that
follows good winter rains. These hooks can be felt easily under the finger tips
by sliding them along the stem.
FLOWERS: Pale blue flowers with five blue stamens and five lobes to the corolla. Color can vary from dark blue to almost white.
LEAVES: Leaves are divided into rounded lobes and a pair of the lobes
more-or-less encircles the stem (clasping).
RANGE: Frequent throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and southern
California, but present only in years when winter rains have been adequate.
FRUIT: A spherical, bristly capsule with several small seeds.
UNARMED. Excepting the minute hooks this plant is free of thorns and
spines.