Wand Holdback
Caesalpinia virgata
Hoffmannseggia microphylla
From live specimen found in the Gila Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona.
RANGE: Locally common in the far southwestern portions of Arizona and
southeastern California and adjacent northern Mexico. Sandy washes in canyons.
SHRUB: A wispy shrub with rushlike stems and very few if any leaves.
Rarely exceeding 1½ m tall.
FLOWERS: Yellow petals with orange markings aranged in few-flowered
spike.
LEAVES: Bipinnate compound leaves are minute and found only on fresh new
growth. These soon wither leaving green stems to conduct photosynthesis.
FRUIT: Small pod, about 2 cm.
UNARMED
Such a quintessential desert plant. Looking so frail, easily overlooked. Yet surviving in some of the harshest environments the Sonoran Desert has to offer. Taxonomists have recently paid some attention to this uncommon plant moving it from the genus Hoffmannseggia to Caesalpinia.