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Kalstroemia grandiflora, One grand summer annual


Silas_Sancona

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Here in the Sonoran Desert, summer equals intense heat. While many plants go into a sort of summer dormancy, or greatly slow down their growth to cope with it, there are others that shine when its hot enough out to attempt a pavement Omlet.  Once rain starts falling, a great transformation begins. If adequate and spaced evenly, a procession of summer actors takes to the stage to put on a show. While typically less dramatic than the the carpets of flowers that can occur when winter rains are plentiful,  Wildflowers that grow and flower during Monsoon season can carpet roadsides and areas of southern and southeastern Arizona in shades of Purple, Gold, and Tangerine. In good years, such displays can last into the beginning of the Fall, fading as days finally start to cool and nights become longer.
 
This is when one catches glimpse of the region's tropical ancestry, ..when plants like annual and perennial Devil's Claw, Sacred Datura, Hind's and Sonoran Nightshade, various annual, perennial and shrubby Cassia species, Velvet Pod Mimosa, Ipomoea longifolia, and a host of other plants, several of which also can be found in parts of the high plains in West Texas / Eastern New Mexico, or whose range extends well south of the border into Sonora.  This is also prime time for wildflowers in higher elevation spots like Mt.Lemmon, and up near Flagstaff..

In the garden, summer annuals are almost non existent as its typically too hot for most to survive and look all that great, especially in full sun. Those that do, like Ornamental Sweet Potato, are just green. others really aren't at their best, imo when it is 110F+ pretty much every day.. Even Periwinkle / Vinca takes a break. While various perennials can flower, some natives like Desert Cassia, look a bit worn out by the time monsoon season starts.. waiting for a drink and some relief from the worst of the heat.

One of the more well known and admired natives is Kallstroemia grandiflora, otherwise known as Arizona Poppy, Summer Poppy, or Orange Caltrop a frequent to infrequent summer annual native to most of the lower elevation parts of the state. May also be native to areas near Anza Borrego in CA. 

Without flowers, this rambling, ground hugging plant resembles another member of the Caltrop family which is a dreaded weed of disturbed places. Unlike Puncture vine, Genus Tribulus, Kallstroemia do not produce the wickedly spiny, goat's head-looking seeds. Both are related to Creosote Bush ( genus Larrea) and the Lignum Vitaes, Guaiacum sp. Kind of neat to see both flowering within feet of each other in the yard.. 

This year, after acquiring seed, i did an experiment to test how the plant would grow in a container, Vs scattered out in the yard. While the pot planted seed came up and flowered, it faded out by the end of July. Never got all that big either.. Did provide a lot of seed though..  Scattered seed out front around the same time, which is traditionally when it would start germinating out in the desert. After one of the more decent rain events in early August, seed was sprouting. While good to see, it seemed as though a lot of the seed i spread didn't sprout. Wouldn't take long to see that i didn't need all of it to do so for a good display. 

As described, plants quickly began filling out and producing flowers within the suggested time frame of about 2 weeks after germination. Over the coming weeks and currently, plants grew larger / wider and filled themselves with plenty of flowers. Some of the individual plants measure 30" across. As Monsoon season ends and Fall starts, this Desert treasure is proving to be a valuable resource for bees and butterflies. To date, i have counted at least 6 species of bees and just about as many, smaller butterfly species that visit the plants. 

While i wasn't sure the plants that grew would provide the effect i was hoping for, i'm far from disappointed. Would recommend it to anyone looking for something colorful to fill that hot, gravel patch in the yard. Seed can be collected, or allowed to settle below the plants. Long lived seed will come up once the heat kicks in next summer if the spot gets some water at the same time. Easy to remove rouge seedlings from spots where you don't want it as well. Plants practically remove themselves once the show concludes in the fall.

Anyways, enough talking..

Close up of leaf pattern on one of the more vigorous plants (Gravel below is 1/2-1.5") / Overall appearance: 
DSCN4376.JPG.70354c44031776ae24569e23c9cDSCN4379.JPG.cbfe7aca20b72a15656573b18b7DSCN4428.JPG.47722b1f44b60d81d79a9311ceeDSCN4433.JPG.93fb84015f2c2b66aa12be0a8e2DSCN4440.JPG.bb0736e056733dea9c605b94cde


Variability of the flowers, petals overlapping, or more widely separated. In some, there is a whitish Corona. All exhibit the "red eye" which helps draw in the bees.. Overall, flowers average 1.5-2" across.
DSCN4059.JPG.350bd80c736af8d4b4ef08b0153DSCN4373.JPG.d8eb635392d3aa56bed898e3ea4DSCN4427.JPG.89a9a8c6b8e8940b554ce75a526DSCN4429.JPG.bd28d0f7d1afec8a5a5f9b36b0aDSCN4452.JPG.c5b08bcd2853ef2d259d943a9ca
 

What ripe seed / structure of the fruit looks like. Look ma, no spiny horns..
DSCN4457.JPG.136ecaad2bb34a86dc09d4bc902DSCN4460.JPG.53fc03ecb1e3d0cb9ee84e4733f

Enjoy,

-Nathan

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