Canaigre

Rumex hymenosepalus

Canaigre, Rumex hymenosepalus, photo © by Michael Plagens

Photographed along Cow Creek in the Bradshaw Mountains at 650m elevation, Yavapai Co., Arizona. February 2015.

LEAVES: Large, somewhat succulent and leathery leaves emerge in early spring with the largest leaves close to ground. Margins entire and petioles tinged red like rhubarb.

PERENNIAL: Above ground portion entirely herbaceous while underground roots survive through the hot summer and the cold winter. Leaves shoot up very early in spring even as mornings remain frosty.

FLOWERS: Small green flowers in densely packed terminal spikes are soon obscured by enlarged, reddish, hyaline bracts. Depending on temperatures blooms from February to April.

FRUIT: Single seeded fruits are three-sided like other buckwheats.

RANGE: Grows in silty or sandy alluvium adjacent to streams or washes at the middle to upper elevations of the Sonoran Desert.

UNARMED

Polygonaceae -- Buckwheat Family

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Sonoran Desert Field Guide
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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, page created 20 Feb. 2015.