Acmispon rigidus, synonyms Lotus rigidus and Ottleya rigida, is a flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.[1] It is known as shrubby deervetch[2] or desert rock-pea. It is found in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert.[3][4]

Acmispon rigidus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Acmispon
Species:
A. rigidus
Binomial name
Acmispon rigidus
(Benth.) Brouillet (2008)
Synonyms[1]
  • Anisolotus argensis (Coult.) A.Heller (1913)
  • Anisolotus rigidus (Benth.) Rydb. (1906)
  • Hosackia puberula A.Gray (1853), nom. illeg.
  • Hosackia rigida Benth. (1849)
  • Lotus argensis Coult. (1893)
  • Lotus rigidus (Benth.) Greene (1890)
  • Ottleya rigida (Benth.) D.D.Sokoloff (1999)

Description

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It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 0.5–1.5 m tall. The leaves are irregularly pinnate or palmate with three or five leaflets, 5–17 mm long. The flowers are yellow to cream, turning red or purple as they age.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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Acmispon rigidus is found in the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah) and in northwestern Mexico.[1] It occurs in the Mojave Desert north to Inyo County, California, and in the Sonoran Desert south to the Baja California Peninsula.[3] It is found on dry slopes and desert dry washes below 6,000 ft above sea level, in Joshua tree woodland, and in pinyon-juniper woodland plant communities.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Acmispon rigidus (Benth.) Brouillet", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 13 September 2023
  2. ^ NRCS. "Lotus rigidus". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 232
  4. ^ Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Jon Mark Stewart, 1998, pg. 72
  5. ^ Acmispon rigidus (Benth.) Brouillet. Jepson eFlora, The Jepson Herbarium. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
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