Flowers of the Southwest Deserts

by Natt N. Dodge

Boerhaavia caribaea

Common names: SPIDERLING, WEST INDIAN BOERHAAVIA Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Boerhaavia caribaea). Red-purple. May-September. Four-o’clock family. Size: Trailing stems up to 4 feet in length.

A common roadside perennial, Spiderling becomes an annoying garden weed when it invades open fields and areas of cultivation. Its trailing stems and sticky foliage interfere with tillage. The flowers are small but numerous and grow in attractive, colorful clusters. This species is widely distributed, not only throughout the deserts of the Southwest, but also in tropical and subtropical America.

In addition to B. caribaea, other species of Boerhaavia are widespread throughout areas of the Southwest below 5,500 feet elevations. The plants usually grow where they are exposed to full sunlight, although sometimes found in open brushlands, and reach full flower in late summer and autumn months.

PURPLE