Category: Flowers

Spring in the Rain Garden

4/16/2024

Lindy Brigham - Rancho Morado

As you can see, the winter rains were good for many plants throughout Tucson.

The garden came into being during the monsoon rains of 2020. The profusion of plants woke us up to the possibility of creating a 'rain garden' and watching it grow over the years rather than mowing it when it became 'too weedy'. The idea of a rain garden is to let nature take over with the water that is available. You will find more about the garden and information on 'rain gardens' in general on the website. It is a work in progress and you will see that weeding is still necessary.

For this post, I am going to just highlight a few of the plants that are currently flowering in the Rain Garden.

Below is a group of three plants growing together that are representative of the most abundant of the current blooms.

The plant with the palmate leaves at the top of the picture is a type of mallow called 'cheese weed' (Malva parviflora). It is native to Europe, but seems to love Tucson.

Below the cheese weed is a plant with small yellow flowers called 'cretan weed' (Hedypnois rhagadioloides) which is native to the mediterranean region.

The third plant, also with yellow flowers to the right of the cretan weed is 'sour clover or common melilot' (Melilotus indicus), also native to the mediterranean area. (You see a pattern here?)

Here are some closeups of these plants

Cheese weed is related to the native globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua flower at right) you will also see growing in the garden. The blooms of the native plant are much more showy.

You can currently see cretan weed covering the rain garden floor on the north end of the garden.

The sour clover is also abundant this year. Clovers and Alfalfas are grown as livestock feed for their nutritional value. They are legumes, plants that collaborate with bacteria in their roots to fix nitrogen. They enrich the soil so less fertilizer is necessary when growing crops. In times before modern agriculture they were used in crop 'rotations' to fertilize the soil between growing other crops.

They are particularly attractive to the many bees in the area.

Many plants in the desert are legumes. A related plant native to Arizona is 'soft prairie clover' (Dalea mollissima)

While these plants are not native, and they tend to outcompete the native plants, they are not a serious threat and can be managed with selective weeding. There are plants that are invasive and a threat to humans and other animals and the next blog will highlight those.

All photographs were taken by Lindy. All the plant references are from the Southwest Desert Flora website

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SACRED DATURA - A MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

11/28/2022

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Frequently encountered all over Arizona is the Sacred Datura, scientific name Datura wrightii. In RillitoBend, it is seen in private gardens, on roadsides, and in Summer 2022, in the Rancho Morado Rain Garden.

Datura wrightii in private garden, 2022 monsoon season, single plant
Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter

This fascinating perennial belongs to the Solanaceae family, along with tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Other common names for the Datura include: Jimson weed, thorn-apple, moon lily, and angel’s trumpet. Much like the potato, the Datura has a fleshy, tuberous root which sprouts when the soil warms. Unlike the potato, Datura is relatively easy to grow from seed.

Datura wrightii, private garden, 2022
Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter

Datura is a night bloomer, pollinated by nocturnal moths and occasionally, bats. A single blossom may have up to one ounce of nectar at its base, which at dusk perfumes a wide area to attract its pollinators. The primary pollinators are the sphinx or hawk moths, which are often mistaken for a hummingbird at dusk. Some of these large moths are about the same size as a hummingbird, making a soft whirring noise with their wings as they hover at each newly opened bloom.

Hawkmoth (Hyles lineata) at Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) flower
Photo by Mike Lewinski, Tres Piedras, NM
Courtesy of https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0]

Native Range of Sacred Datura (D. wrightii)
Courtesy of US Dept of Agriculture, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=DAWR2
© 2014 Esri | USDA-NRCS-NGCE & NPDT

The name Sacred Datura refers to the hallucinogenic effects of the plant when consumed by indigenous holy people and ceremony participants. All parts of the plant are toxic, and potentially fatal when consumed. Deliberate ingestion by non-human creatures is rare, since all but the flower itself is bad-smelling and bitter-tasting. However, humans seeking a mind-altering experience can inflict permanent damage to lungs, GI tract, kidneys, or the heart; mental impairment may be permanent; and death is not an uncommon outcome. The Sacred Datura has many other ethnobotanical uses among North American indigenous peoples.

The word Datura is an ancient Hindu word.
Wrightii honors Charles Wright (1811-1885), an American botanical collector.
Jimson weed is thought to refer to a related species in the eastern US near Jamestown, Virginia – and the name of Jamestown gradually altered to ‘Jimson’. Early colonists were reported to exhibit strange behavior and illness after consuming the plant when other foods were unavailable.
The Solanaceae family is interchangeably called the Nightshade family, possibly because many of its members bloom at night, grow underground, or thrive in shady locations.

Gardeners handling the Sacred Datura will be safe from the plant toxins by wearing gloves, washing hands with soap and water, and cleaning their tools after use. Seeds can be collected from dried seed pods in the fall, and planted in the spring. Go to this link for details on propagation.

Maturing Seed Pod on Datura wrightii, private garden 2022
Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter

Datura discolor, showing purple streaks in throat of open flowers. Rio Vista Natural Resource Park, 2022
Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter

In RillitoBend, we have two species of Datura commonly seen in spring and summer after rainy periods: Datura wrightii and Datura discolor. To tell them apart, examine the flower or the seed pods. D wrightii has a pure white throat and pale lavender edges, is somewhat larger overall, and the seed pod has shorter spines. D discolor has purple streaks in the white throat of the flower, is somewhat smaller, and the seed pod has long spines, often > 1 cm. Datura discolor is the predominant Datura species in Rio Vista Natural Resource Park.

One-year-old Datura wrightii, west side of Cactus Blvd, during the monsoon 2022
Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter

Sonoran Moonglow
22" X 16", acrylic on paper
© 2021, Melanie Campbell-Carter
Photo by Prull Photography

Sacred Datura article sources and photo credits:

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RillitoBend Rambles - our 'HOOD'

10/3/2022

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This is the inaugural blog of RillitoBend Rambles. It is an introduction to of some of our favorite places for observing nature. In future posts, we will have pictures and information about some of our favorite plants and critters.

1. Rio Vista
Our gem in the neighborhood is the Rio Vista Natural Resource Park. It is a ‘natural’ park thanks to the efforts of many of the residents who still live here. Throughout the year we will be documenting some of the plants that catch our interest as they bloom. And those of you who track wildlife please contribute!

Nama demissum

Datura discolor

One of the goals of the neighborhood association is to improve the aesthetics and livability of our everyday surroundings. (our VISIONS). To that end, several roadsides have been planted and are tended with the volunteer help of many neighbors.

2. Lucie's Garden: One of the first enhancement projects was Lucie’s Garden just north of the Winterhaven Village Townhomes gate on Cactus Blvd. 3. Linear Garden on Cactus: The area between the Winterhaven Village gate and Prince was planted in the effort to soften the look of the wall. The varieties of plants are amazing, and today the plants are well-established without supplemental watering.

4. Friday Cat's Memorial Rain Garden: Across the street is a little oasis being developed around the mesquites.

5. Rain Garden: During the 2021 monsoon season, a profusion of plants appeared on their own outside of Rancho Morado on Cactus and we dubbed it the “Rain Garden”. The City donated boulders and rocks that the neighborhood volunteers placed for traffic control and rainwater harvesting.

6. Meadowview linear garden: Turning the corner, the roadside north of Meadowview on Allen Road was planted with native plants to begin to soften the appearance of Allen and take advantage of some of the abundance of stormwater heading east.

7. Cactus/Allen Intersection: The night blooming cereus at the N/E and S/W corners are some special surprises at this intersection (plus some at the roundabout!). And in ponds that appear during the monsoon rains, one can see spadefoots!

This is just the start.
If you would like to help spread the word on the glorious abundance around us,
send an email to Rambles@rillitobendna.org
Happy Rambling!

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RillitoBend Rambles

Spring in the Rain Garden

SACRED DATURA - A MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

RillitoBend Rambles - our 'HOOD'

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Spring in the Rain Garden

SACRED DATURA - A MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

RillitoBend Rambles - our 'HOOD'

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