Trailing Four-o-clock

Description:

Each 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide flower is actually a cluster of 3 bilaterally symmetric flowers. The flowers emerge from the leaf axils and have deeply scalloped petals. The flowers are followed by 5-ribbed fruit with a deeply convex stem end and 0 (common) to 4 teeth on each rib. The leaves are green, hairy, oval-shaped, and paired opposite each other but unequal in size. The leaves near the base of the plant are the largest. The stems are plump, trailing, and often reddish in color. Both the leaves and stems are hairy and sticky.

Habitat:

Sabino Canyon is a natural desert oasis located in Tucson’s Coronado National Forest and is home to spectacular desert landscapes and abundant wildlife. During the winter and summer rainy seasons, pools of water form in rocky outcroppings that wind up among hillsides resplendent with palo verde trees, cholla and prickly pear cactus and graceful groves of ocotillo.