Small Venus' Looking-glass
Triodanis biflora
(Triodanis perfoliata var. biflora)
(Specularia biflora)
Photographed along Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. May 2008. The insect in upper image is a nectar-feeding, Syrphid Fly. Close-up of fruit in lower image shows open pore-windows.
FRUIT: Dry capsule with many seeds opening by a pair of curious pores
with roll-up doors. The ovary - seed capsule is inferior, i.e. it develops below
the sepals and petals.
ANNUAL: Delicate annual of mid to late spring consisting of one or a few
upright stems scarcely surpassing 45 cm
tall.
RANGE: Fairly frequent in the higher elevations of the Sonoran Desert in
Arizona and Mexico. Restricted to moister habitats along sandy washes.
FLOWERS: Five, blue-violet petals. The lower flowers on the stem do not
open up (cleistogamous) and produce seed by self-pollination.
LEAVES: Narrow, lance-shaped leaves alternate on stem. Bases usually not
clasping the stem.
UNARMED. Thornless.