Tecoma stans Bignonia Family
TRUMPET-BUSH
[79.] Louisiana broomrape
Lacking chlorophyll and parasitic on the roots of bur-sage and other desert composites, broomrape is so unusual in appearance as to attract immediate attention. Although fairly common in low-elevation deserts from west Texas and Mexico to southern California, it is occasionally found as far north as southern Utah and Nevada and at elevations up to 7,000 feet. The rather inconspicuous flowers appear from February to September. Navajo Indians made a decoction of the plant as a treatment for sores. Desert Indians ate the tender stems in springtime.
Orobanche ludoviciana Broomrape Family
LOUISIANA BROOMRAPE
[80.] Coyote-melon
Restricted to western Arizona, southern California, and Lower California, palmata has similar-appearing relatives with much wider distribution. Their large leaves and vine-like growth attract attention along roadsides at elevations up to 7,000 feet. Most widespread of these strikingly coarse perennials is Cucurbita foetidissima, the buffalo-gourd or calabazilla. This rank-growing, ill-smelling vine-like plant may have prostrate stems up to 20 feet long. The globular fruits, of tennis ball size, were cooked by Indians or dried for winter consumption. Seeds were boiled to form a pasty mush. California pioneers used the crushed roots as a cleansing agent in washing clothes, but found that particles clinging to the cloth were a skin irritant.