Devil'S Spineflower

Description

Chorizanthe rigida, with the common names of devil's spineflower, rigid spineflower, spiny-herb, rigid spiny-herb, is an annual plant in the Polygonaceae family the buckwheats. It is a member of the genus Chorizanthe, the spineflowers and is found in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, in the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California, and Sonora.The Chorizanthe rigida plant, is a short, erect and sometimes single-stalked, but multi-stalked to 5 stalks or more, 2.5-2.5-6.0 inches (1-2 dm) in height. It grows quickly, especially following spring rains. With the onset of early summer it turns into a spine-skeleton. It has a main taproot, mostly longer than the plant is tall, taking advantage of the rainfall's ground moisture.The devil's spineflower is extremely conspicuous when growing in its bright new green; when desiccated its spiny skeleton is blackish, dark gray, or of medium browns and blends in easily to the desert background ground colors.In the hottest sections of the western Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona the Rigid Spineflower is mostly a 2.5 to 5 inch plant and is often not noticed when the plant goes dry, (see here (a multi-stalked short plant)).