Hall's shrubby-spurge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hall's shrubby-spurge |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Tetracoccus (plant)
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| Species: |
hallii
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Tetracoccus hallii, also called Hall's shrubby-spurge, is a cool type of flowering shrub. It belongs to the Picrodendraceae plant family. This plant is well-known for growing in hot, dry desert areas.
Contents
Where It Lives
This plant naturally grows in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert. You can find it in places like southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona in the U.S. It also lives in Baja California, Mexico.
Tetracoccus hallii loves desert areas. It grows well in places with creosote bush scrub. You can find it at elevations lower than 1,200 meters (about 3,900 feet). It is very common in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.
What It Looks Like
Tetracoccus hallii is a shrub that grows in a bushy shape. It has many branches. The plant feels smooth, except for its newest twigs, which have rough hairs.
Leaves
The leaves are small and grow in groups along the branches. Each leaf is tough and shaped like a teardrop. They are only a few millimeters long.
Flowers and Reproduction
This plant is dioecious. This means that some plants have only male flowers, and other plants have only female flowers.
Male Flowers
The male flowers grow in clusters. Each male flower has 4 to 6 round parts called sepals. It also has 4 to 8 upright parts called stamens, which produce pollen.
Female Flowers
The female flowers grow by themselves, not in clusters.
Bloom Time
Tetracoccus hallii blooms from January through May. It flowers in both the lower Sonoran and higher Mojave deserts.
Fruit
After flowering, the plant produces a round fruit. This fruit is fuzzy or woolly. It usually has three sections inside. The fruit grows to about one centimeter long when it is fully grown. Each section of the fruit usually holds one or two seeds.
