''Apacheria chiricahuensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Crossosomataceae Crossosomataceae is a small plant family, consisting of four genera of shrubs found only in the dry parts of the American southwest and Mexico. This family has included up to ten species in the past, although as of 2021 six species are still re ...

. It is the only species in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

''Apacheria''.NatureServe. 2014
''Apacheria chiricahuensis''.
NatureServe Explorer. It is known by the common names Chiricahua rock flower, cliff brittlebush, and Apache bush.''Apacheria chiricahuensis''.
Plant Abstracts. Arizona Game and Fish Department. The genus is named in honor of the

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

people who inhabit the region; the specific epithet refers to the

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. T ...

Cochise County, Arizona Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...

.''Apacheria chiricahuensis''.
New Mexico Rare Plants Technical Council. This plant is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

up to half a meter tall and one meter wide. The hard, spine-like twigs are lined with opposite clusters of leaves each a few millimeters long. The solitary flowers have four white to cream-colored, or occasionally pink, petals 5 to 6 millimeters long. The fruit is a follicle with 1 or 2 brown seeds. ''Apacheria'' is similar to '' Crossosoma'' species, which can be differentiated by their alternate leaves and five-parted flowers. This plant grows in many types of rocky desert habitat, such as cliffs, riparian woodlands, and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15580411, from2=Q16160519 Crossosomataceae Flora of Arizona Flora of New Mexico Plants described in 1975