| DESCRIPTION: Small erect shrub 1.5-3 m tall, woody at the base, little ˆ or unbranched from the base. Woody taproot to 70 cm long. Compound bipinnate leaves 9-18 cm long with 6-14 pairs of leaflets. Small flowering heads with 25-60 white or pale green flowers. Pods linear, 4.6-10 cm long. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. USE: A component of grazed grasslands in northern Mexico and southern Arizona, USA. Seeds are eaten in a salsa in Mexico. Has potential as a legume of sub-humid grasslands under grazing. COMMON NAMES: Malvilla de laguna. FURTHER INF: Occurs from southern Arizona to Mexico at elevations from 0-1400 m along roadsides, canyons, watercourses and in oak woodland or grassland. Occurs over a wide annual rainfall range from 300 mm in Arizona to 1300-2000 mm in coastal, southeast Mexico. These environments have intense dry seasons of 3-10 months. Average annual temperatures are also highly variable from 20°C in Arizona, a range of 11-32°C for the coldest and hottest months respectively, to 25.5°C in southeast Mexico, with a range of 20-30°C for the coldest and hottest months respectively. Found on sandy, rocky and clay soils. |