Arizona firecracker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arizona firecracker |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ipomopsis
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| Species: |
arizonica
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Ipomopsis arizonica is a beautiful wild plant often called the Arizona firecracker or Arizona ipomopsis. It's a type of flowering plant that belongs to the Polemoniaceae family. You can find it growing in the mountains of the Mojave Desert, especially in places called sky islands. These special areas are found from southeastern California through southern Nevada to northern Arizona. This plant loves rocky spots and dry riverbeds (washes) at high elevations, usually between 1500 and 3100 meters (about 4,900 to 10,200 feet) above sea level.
About the Arizona Firecracker Plant
The Arizona firecracker is a special kind of plant. It's a herbaceous perennial plant, which means it has soft stems (not woody like a tree) and lives for more than two years. However, this plant is also monocarpic. This means it flowers and produces seeds only once in its life, and then it dies.
This plant usually grows to be about 10 to 30 centimeters (4 to 12 inches) tall. Its leaves are about 3 to 5 centimeters long. They have a unique shape, with 7 to 11 deep cuts or lobes, making them look a bit like feathers.
Bright Red Flowers
The Arizona firecracker is famous for its bright, eye-catching flowers. These flowers grow in a group of 5 to 13 on one side of a stem, forming a spike. Each flower is shaped like a tube, about 1 to 2 centimeters long. At the end of the tube, there are five petal-like parts called corolla lobes, and each one can be up to a centimeter long.
The flowers are a vibrant red color. This bright color is very important because it helps attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are the main pollinators for this plant. They visit the flowers to drink nectar and, in doing so, help the plant make seeds.
