FINICKY CORPSE FLOWER FULL
FINICKY CORPSE FLOWER SERIES

Lots of newВ blog entriesВ are in the works, and if all goes well, I will continue to post something every 7-10 days (or so). Things areВ afoot at Awkward Botany Headquarters. In this regard, Chamaebatiaria millefolium is a true rarity.

Though not very commercially available, fernbush, with its unique appearance and late summer blooms, is a great addition to waterwise gardens and landscapes.ДЇun Fact: Chamaebatiaria is a monotypic genus, meaning that it is a genusВ consisting of only one species. Physical adaptations such as these reduce water loss through transpiration, which helps the plant use available water more efficiently. They are small and finely divided,В as well as being hairyВ and resinous.

Once its established, it needs very little (if any) supplemental water.В It is likely that the leaves of fernbush give it this trait. They can be pruned off in the springВ inВ preparation for new flower stalks and to keep the plants looking good.ДЇernbush is very drought tolerant. The spent flower stalks are attractive in their own right and provide great winter interest. The fruit of fernbush is called a follicleВ and contains very small seeds, mere millimeters in size. Flowers appear in clusters at the tips of branches in mid to late summer andВ are small, white or cream colored, and rose-like with five petals. Its bark is smooth andВ russet or cinnamon-colored. Alas, fernbush is not a fern,В but insteadВ a shrub with very cool leaves.ДЇernbush grows to about as wide as it does high (between 1-3 meters), and depending on where it is growing it is evergreen or semi-evergreen, dropping the older leaves from the lower portions of its branches during the winter.

FINICKY CORPSE FLOWER FULL

As the common name suggests, the leaves look just like little fern fronds, and considering that ferns tend to be associated with shady, moist environments, it seems strange to see a fern-like bush growing in full sun in a dry, rocky site. Its the leaves that make it so interesting. Instead, its majorВ wildlife valueВ is providing cover for birds, small mammals, and antelope.ДЇernbush is by far one of my favorite shrubs. However, it also occurs in sights with loam or clay loamВ soils, makingВ it a plant that isВ not too finicky about soil types.В ItВ is foundВ at a wide range of elevations (from 3,000 feet up to 11,000 feet) and in aВ wide variety of plant communities, including lodgepole pine subalpine forests, juniper-pinyon pine woodlands, mountainВ mahogany-oak scrublands, and sagebrush steppes.В It is occasionally browsed byВ certain animals, but not enough to be considered an important food source. states, generally in locations that are dry and rocky withВ sandy orВ gravelly soils. FernbushВ is a shrubВ that is foundВ inВ most westernВ U.S.

FINICKY CORPSE FLOWER SERIES

The first of many plants to beВ profiled inВ this series on drought tolerant plantsis Chamaebatiaria millefolium,В known commonly as fernbush or desert sweet.

Finicky corpse flower