Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
 Mexican Bladdersage, entire plant |
General: Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana), also called Paperbag Bush, is an upright, dome-shaped, many-branched shrub with thin twigs that come off the stems at nearly right angles, giving the plant a thin, twiggy appearance. Flowers are purple, pea-type flowers with deep throats. The fruits are diagnostic: they are small (1/2-inch diameter) papery bags with seeds inside, that explains the other common name “Paperbag Bush.” When the fruits are ripe, the paperbags drop off the twigs and blow across the landscape carrying the seeds away from the parent plant to, hopefully, germinate somewhere else. Mexican Bladdersage is a fairly common component of wash communities on upper bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. It can be found beyond the washes, but it is most common along washes. |
 Mexican bladdersage flower |
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae). Other Names: Paperbag Bush, Mexican Bladdersage. Plant Form: Upright many-branched shrub with long thin twigs. Height: 3-4, to about 5 feet. Bark: green Stems: Twigs come off branches at nearly right angles; rigid. Leaves: Oval, to about 1/2-inch long, margin entire. |
 Mexican bladdersage dried fruits -- the paperbags |
Flowers: Blooms March to June, and then again in the fall (as late as late November) if conditions permit. Inflorescences axillary at last few nodes on stem, two small flowers per node; flowers purple, 2-lipped; calyx expands to from a hollow, bladder-like fruit 1/2 to 3/4-inch in diameter. Seeds: Fruit: 4 nutlets. Nutlets small and round. Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils and washes on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains. Elevation: 3,500 to 6,000 feet. Distribution: Southwestern U.S. California to Utah and Texas, south into northern Mexico. Comments: |
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 Plants most often occur in or near washes |
 Sometimes plants are found on mountain hillsides |
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 Dried plants during summer and winter |
 Dried plants during summer and winter |
 Dried plants during summer and winter |
 Dried plants during summer and winter |
 Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves) |
 Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves) |
 Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves) |
 Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves) |
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 Leaves are opposite |
 Leaves are opposite |
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 Two flower buds and a developing fruit |
 Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth (arrows) |
 Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth (arrows) |
 Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth |
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 Mexican Bladdersage blooming in November |
 Mexican Bladdersage blooming in November |
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 Developing paperbags |
 Developing paperbags |
 Ripening paperbags |
Ripening paperbags |
 Four developing seeds inside a paperbag |
 Four developing seeds inside a paperbag |
 Three developing seeds inside a paperbag |
 Three developing seeds inside a paperbag |
 Four ripe seeds (the maximum number) inside a paperbag |
 Four ripe seeds (the maximum number) inside a paperbag |
 Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag |
 Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag |
 Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag |
 Only two ripe seeds inside a paperbag |
Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
; Last updated 231201
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