''Chorizanthe corrugata'' is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name wrinkled spineflower. It is native to the Mojave and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

s of the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

and two states of northwest Mexico,

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Description

''Chorizanthe corrugata'' is an erect, branching herb growing to a maximum height near half a meter. Most of the rounded or oval leaves are located about the base of the plant, each up to 2 centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is made up of a cluster of flowers, each opening from a cylindrical, tubular

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

in shades of green or tan. The plant can be identified by the transversely

corrugated The term corrugated, describing a series of parallel ridges and furrows, may refer to the following: Materials *Corrugated fiberboard, also called corrugated cardboard *Corrugated galvanised iron, a building material composed of sheets of cold-r ...

surface of this involucral tube. Along the top edge of the tube are three narrow

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s tipped in hooked awns. The flower itself is only about 2 millimeters long, hairy, and white in color.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Chorizanthe corrugata''''Chorizanthe corrugata'' - U.C. Photo gallery
corrugata North American desert flora Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Baja California Flora of Sonora Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Taxa named by Asa Gray Taxa named by John Torrey Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polygonaceae-stub