142 



American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



branched evergreen shrub or small gnarled tree 1 to 7 feet high; bark reddish- 

 brown, becoming gray and very shreddy; young twigs showing numerous 

 leaf scars; leaves small, about I/4 to 1/2 inch long, deeply lobed or divided, 

 dark green above, densely white-hairy below, the edges curling under so that 

 only a white line shows down the middle of each lobe, tending to occur in 

 small bunches on short branchlets along the stems; flowers white, ^2 to 1 inch 

 across, with 5 white petals; fruits seed-like achenes tipped with long white- 

 fuzzy tails 1 to 2 inches long, 4 to 10 (usually 5) to each flower. 



The species seems to favor dry rocky locations, often below cliffs, hence 

 the common name, cliffrose. During the Spring and early Summer when the 

 bushes are densely covered with conspicuous white flowers, it is one of the 

 most showy species lining the roadsides in some of the parks of the South- 

 west. In spite of the bitter foliage, the shrub is an important winter browse 

 for deer. The Indians of the Southwest used the leaves in a decoction for 

 the treatment of fevers. It is sometimes called quinine-bush because of the 

 bitter herbage. 



Occurrence. — mesa VERDE. BRYCE CANYON. ZION, common, 4,000 feet: south side 

 of Zion Canyon near south entrance. GRAND CANYON, 4,000 to 8,000 feet. North Rim, 

 on open flats near edge of rim: Cape Royal; Bright Angel Point; Point Sublime. 

 South Rsm, abundant: east and west rim drives; Yavapai Point; Grandview ; west of 

 Rowe's Well; near Rampart Point; east of Hermit's Rest. Canyon, commcn: Hermit 

 trail; Bright Angel trail; Kaibab trail; Mormon Flats. 



Apacheplume {Fallugia paradoxa (D. Don) Endl.), fig. 79. — Much- 

 branched, usually round-topped 

 shrub, 1 to 6 feet high, with slen- 

 der branches; bark light gray or 

 whitish, the older bark shreddy; 

 leaves small, ^ to % inch long, 

 thickish, deeply divided into sev- 

 eral lobes, often rusty on the under 

 surface, tending to be bunched 

 along the stems; flowers white, 1 

 to ly^ inches across, with 5 petals; 

 calyx with small lance-shaped or 

 oblong bractlets between the calyx- 

 lobes; flowers white, 1 to 1^ 

 inches across, the petals 5; fruits 

 small seed-like achenes with long, 

 white-hairy tails 1 inch or more 

 long, packed into dense fluffy 

 heads 1^2 to 2 inches in diameter. 



Apache-plume is one of the 



common shrub species of the 



Southwest where it usually occurs 



scattered on sandy or gravelly 



Fig. 79. Apacheplume (Fallugia slopes or on dry, rocky ridges. The 



paradoxa). common name comes from the 



