Lesquerella and Eshscholzia, the law firm

March 24, 2019 00:04:42
Lesquerella and Eshscholzia, the law firm
Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey
Lesquerella and Eshscholzia, the law firm

Mar 24 2019 | 00:04:42

/

Show Notes

Lesquerella is named in honor of Leo Lesquereaux and Wikipedia reminds me that he was a “Swiss bryologist and a pioneer of American paleobotany.” So, Swiss not French, Mister Mesquitey.

Eschscholzia is in honor of Dr. Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz. Arizona Flora lists the genus as Eschscholtzia with the t. That’s the only place I’ve seen that t.  I’m sure there is a story behind this, though probably not interesting except to a plant taxonomy geek.

Anyway, our Mexican poppy is Eschscholzia californica subsp mexicana. And the mustard bladderpod is Physaria gordonii. The sweet fragrance from the vast stands of bladderpod is intoxicating and make it well worth spending some time near a flower covered field and taking it in. And if you look around in a stand of Mexican poppies you may find plants with white, pink, or rose colored flowers mixed in with the bright oranges and yellows.

The photos of the poppies are from our trip toward Safford on Hwy 191. In one photo you can see the  snow capped Pinaleno Mtns. in the background. When we got back from New Mexico a week later, the wild flower show in Cochise County really took off and as I write this, fields, hills and mesas are glowing gold and yellow.

Other Episodes

Episode 0

November 17, 2020 00:05:11
Episode Cover

Piñons in the Hills

The geology found at Fort Bowie National Historic Site certainly makes for the diverse flora. Hills or slopes of limestone next to or mixed...

Listen

Episode 0

August 08, 2023 00:03:59
Episode Cover

Arizona Walnut

I grew up in the land of the black walnut, Juglans nigra. And, if you grew up in the eastern…

Listen

Episode

September 07, 2018 00:04:56
Episode Cover

Fall and Moving Critters

I think that if I went back twenty or so years and looked at my notes, I would probably be waxing poetic about fall....

Listen