Fallugia paradoxa

I do love wandering around little towns and Willcox is fun. And by the way, it was my friend and Willcox resident Steve Marlatt who reminded me of what a great place it is to use as a home base. He should know.

Now a days the town of Willcox promotes itself as the wine capital of Arizona owing to the abundance of vineyards in the area. I remember when we moved to Cochise County in 1995 the town was declared the ratite capitol of the west, but I haven’t seen an ostrich or emu in many years and make no mistake, Willcox was and still is a cow town. It has Arizona’s oldest livestock auction house that serves “all of Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico.” Maybe ranchers and cowboys drink wine at the auction.

In the borderlands look for Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) between 3,500 ft. and 7,000 ft. on rocky slopes or out in the flats and of course roadsides of those places.  Apache plume is common around our little homestead. There are thickets of it all along the banks of the Ol’ Guajolote. It tends to spread by roots to create those thickets and they certainly bind the soil along that creek. When this native shrub is in bloom and plume, it’s gorgeous. If you were to plant one or two in your habitat, be aware that they do get large, as in 6’ X 6’, and don’t forget the spreading roots. Maybe one is enough.

The photos are mine.