Dunbar Spring Neighborhood_Ambrosia deltoidea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family: Asteraceae

 

Common Names:

 

  • English: triangle leaf bursage
  • Spanish: Chicurilla   
  • O'odham: Taḍṣagĭ

 

Scientific Name: Ambrosia deltoidea

 

Rain Garden Zone: A. deltoidea thrives in the top rain garden zone. 

 

 

Reproduced with permission from "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond" by Brad Lancaster, HarvestingRainwater.com

 

Flowering Season: Foresummer 

  • Characteristics: A. deltoidea is an evergreen (semi-drought deciduous) shrub that grows up to 1.65 ft in height, with a compact rounded form (1). Slender, brittle branches become reddish-brown as they mature and produce triangular leaves, gray-green in color (1). Flowers are dull yellow-green in color (1).

  • Landscape Cultivation: The shrub is considered low water use, moderately salt and cold tolerant (down to 22 oF); it is commonly found growing on gravelly slopes or on desert flats with full sun exposure (1, 2).

  • Ethnobotany:

  • Wildlife:

    Birds, small mammals and ants (which are food for horned lizards) feed on the seeds (1).

  •             Ecological:

    Can act as a nurse plant for tender young cacti, palo verdes, and ocotillos (5). Fresh cuttings can also act as a deterrent against rabbits when tied to newly transplanted plants (5). May assist in stabilizing soil, reduce erosion (6).

  •             Medicinal:

    Chewing on the leaves may act as a remedy to relieve menstrual cramps for short durations of time (3,4).

 

 

References:

  1. UA Campus Arboretum
  2. Mielke, Judy. (1993). Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes. University of Texas Press.
  3. Kay, Margarita Artschwager. (1996). Healing with Plants in the American and Mexican West. University of Arizona Press.
  4. Bigfoot, Peter. Useful Wild Western Plants - The Blessings of Southwestern Herbs. Reevis Mountain School and Sanctuary.
  5. Turner, Raymond M., Bowers, Janice E., and Burgess, Tony L.. (1995) Sonoran Desert Plants - An Ecological Atlas. University of Arizona Press.
  6. Epple, Anne Orth. (1995). Plants of Arizona. Falcon Press Publishing.

 

For more information on this plant, see the Campus Arboretum species description pages.

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