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Tetradymia axillaris
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Cotton Catclaw
( Tetradymia axillaris )
Tetradymia axillaris
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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About Cotton Catclaw (Tetradymia axillaris)
1 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Tetradymia axillaris
is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family known by the common names Cotton Catclaw and Longspine Horsebrush. This is a plant of the sagebrush and desert plant communities of the southwestern United States. In California it is found from Mono County southward to Riverside County. The plant forms a sprawling thicket and is very spiny. The spine is a modified central leaf vein; the green leaves dry and their tissues fall away, leaving the veins as hard, sharp spines. When in foliage the bush has green, hairy stems and bears yellow rayless flowerheads in the axils, or angles, of the newest branches. The fruits are released in masses of cottony seed. The sharp spines were used as tattooing needles by the Kawaiisu Native Americans. This plant should be used away from traffic where the spines will not be a problem. This is a very different plant from Catclaw Acacia (
Senegalia greggii
) which is a legume that grows in the desert further south.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Shrub
Size
5 ft tall
5 ft wide
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous
Flower Color
Yellow, Green
Flowering Season
Spring
Wildlife Supported
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1
confirmed
)
SHOW ALL
Hemileuca burnsi
Hemileuca burnsi
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade
Moisture
Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 1
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0° F
Soil Drainage
Fast
Soil Description
Rocky, sandy or gravelly. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0
Companion Plants
Use with other high
Desert
species such as
Utah Agave
(
Agave utahensis
),
Bigberry Manzanita
(
Arctostaphylos glauca
),
Big Sagebrush
(
Artemisia tridentata
),
Fremont Barberry
(
Berberis fremontii
),
Desert Ceanothus
(
Ceanothus greggii
),
Desert
Willow (Chilpsis linearis),
Buckwheat
(
Eriogonum sp.
),
Apache Plume
(
Fallugia paradoxa
),
California Juniper
(
Juniperus californica
),
Bladderpod
(
Peritoma arborea
),
Antelope Brush
(
Purshia stansburyana
or tridentata), Sage (
Salvia dorrii
or mohavensis),
Jojoba
(
Simmondsia chinensis
),
Banana Yucca
(
Yucca baccata
), and various cactus species.
Natural Setting
Site Type
Moist places in mountains or high desert
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.5" - 22.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.28" - 2.85", Coldest Month: 25.8" - 59.8", Hottest Month: 55.4" - 89.5", Humidity: 1.54" - 47.01", Elevation: 82" - 9194"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: Catclaw Horsebrush, Cotton-thorn, Longspine Horsebrush
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Cotton Catclaw
Tetradymia axillaris
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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