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Jul 4, 2008: Cypripedium passerinum
Jul 22, 2007:
Matelea pilosa
Jul 22, 2006:
Lotus argophyllus var. niveus
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Harpochloa falx
July 23, 2007 : Proboscidea louisianica subsp. fragrans
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Keywords: Martyniaceae | Proboscidea louisianica (P. Mill.) Thellung subsp. fragrans (Lindl.) Bretting
Today's image is again courtesy of our “BPotD correspondent in Mexico”, David Tarrant.
This plant was growing along the roadside in the freshly disturbed earth near a building site, a typical locale for this plant of weedy areas, cattle pens and other degraded sites in Texas and Mexico. In Mexico, the common name is toritos or “little bulls”, while in Texas it is variously known as unicorn plant, common devil's claw, ram's horn, cow-catcher or mule-grab. Some common names refer to the paired upright bractlets that subtend the flower, while others refer to the fruit (a series of images including dried fruit and flowers can be seen here, but the site is only working intermittently this morning).
The Plants For a Future database provides references on the human uses of the fruits, including food (when immature), ornamentation, and sewing withes (for the latter, also see the section on “Coiled Baskets for Household Use” in By the Prophet of the Earth: Ethnobotany of the Pima).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at July 23, 2007 7:00 AM
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Posted by: Beverley at July 23, 2007 8:22 AM
I grow the devil's claw in my front yard here in Tucson, AZ. It's a lovely spreading plant with beautiful blossoms. It's a native plant but inspires a lot of questions from my neighbors. The Tohono o odham Indians use it in their basketmaking. I make "reindeer" with the claws and give them for Christmas presents. I was so happy to see it on this website. Thanks! Mary DeLand, Tucson, AZ
Posted by: Mary DeLand at July 23, 2007 9:49 AM
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Proboscidea - Z10 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths