Mala Mujer or Cnidoscolus angustidens is an interesting plant in Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family. It’s found in southeastern Arizona and south into Sonora on rocky slopes from 2,500′ to 5,000′ in elevation. What makes it interesting, at least to me, are the green maple-like leaves covered in white dots that are actually little mounds, each holding up a stinging hair. They do sting and some folks have a bad reaction to the sting. As you can see from the photo I clasped the stems and yes I got stung (very cool!), but I didn’t a bad reaction. Sometimes native plant nurseries will have this Euphorb in stock, so it’s well worth asking your favorite nursery person if they grow it.
When I was a kid growing up in Kentucky a lot of folks called sweet potatoes yams. Even in the grocery stores they were...
Asclepias asperula is found beyond the borderlands around the Southwestern United States and into Northern Mexico. My explanation of the common name antelope horns...
This episode of Growing Native is a rambling reminiscence about amphibians and reptiles. With the monsoon starting up here in…
