There is no getting around it, every summer monsoon when the borderlands come to life it is so exciting! Apodanthera undulata, the crazy melon, can be easily seen along the roads and out across the land during this season. The clusters of yellow flowers give it away quickly. Those yellow flowers close up pretty quickly later in the morning. You can see the spent and tired flowers in the photo below. And check out the crazy ribbed fruit with the “disagreeable odor” as noted in Arizona Flora. Hey, it’s melon loco in the Cucurbitaceae! Yay!
I grew up in the land of the black walnut, Juglans nigra. And if you grew up in the eastern US, then you did...
The botanical name for Arizona rosewood is Vauquelinia californica. The species name californica means of California, but it’s not found…
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a native bunch grass that is easily identified, especially in the late summer and fall when the silvery seed...
