Tribal Nations Botanical Research Collaborative's Journal

Hi everybody,

My name is Ashlee and I’ll be sharing some fun plant information with the TNBRC here on iNaturalist! I was born and raised in Arizona and have been learning about our native plants for the past ten years. I am excited to learn and share with all of you!

Spring is here and the low deserts are blooming! As much as I would love to venture to the warm and colorful lowlands, I am staying closer to home (Flagstaff) and following agency advice to slow the spread of covid-19.

Spring in the ponderosa pine forest can feel slow (and windy!), but along with the return of songbirds, there is some plant life popping up! A plant called Dwarf Lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera) can be found poking through pine litter. Its leaves are tinged purple because it is a partial root parasite, deriving some nutrients from the roots of its neighbors, as well as its own photosynthesis. Its tubular flowers are cream-colored with purple tips. The plant has been used to treat stomach aches in children and can also help quiet anxieties and muscle tension.

I hope you are all finding ways to enjoy the spring!

Imagine a desert canyon in springtime. Water trickles over bedrock, filling pools and tinajas that will be dry in the coming months, a hummingbird zooms past your head, the sun pleasantly streams down, and there is a sense of buzzing life all around. In these places, we can find coral bean or chilicote (Erythrina flabelliformis) flowering now in a firecracker-like array of bright red tubular flowers on bare stems that will not put on their broad leaves until monsoon rains. Over the summer, this shrub will form legume pods containing their namesake red beans. This species is only found in the southern-most parts of Arizona and New Mexico, but its range extends into the Sierra Madre of northern Mexico and the mountains of Baja California—a reminder of the reach of tropical flora into our region. The red beans are toxic, but beautiful for jewelry making. The bark and stem can be used to treat scorpion stings, fevers, and dysentery. The flowers are loved by hummingbirds and even if we are stuck reading this from our homes, I find it comforting to know that coral bean is out there doing its thing!

--Ashlee