Scientific Family
Bignoniaceae
Other common names
desert-willow
desertwillow
Art's seedless desert willow
Plant type
Trees
Riparian
Yes
Plant Description
Origin
Native
Upright large shrub or tree with a spreading crown. Can be a single or multi-trunked shrub or tree with moderate to rapid growth. Flowers are orchid-like.
Large shrub or tree; short stout trunk and several erect branches from the base. Leaves long and slender; alternate and opposite. Flowers pink,lavender or white, throat marked with lines or spots. Fruit is a slender capsule.
Height
29 feet
Width
20 feet
Habitat
Habitat description
Found along dry washes and on the high terraces of river floodplains in the low deserts and foothills.
Plant Community
Riparian
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
5000
Leaves
Leaf color
Light green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Leaf Drop
Deciduous
Leaves are thin and slender, often slightly curved downward; up to 10 inches long by 3/8 inch wide, gradually narrowed at both ends, mostly alternate, margins and surfaces are smooth with a single distinct vein visible on the leaf underside.
Flowers
Flower color
Pink, lavender or white
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
August
Flowers are attractive, orchid-like, fragrant and showy. Blooms are tubular or funnel shaped with purple and yellow streaks inside the throat. They appear in long clusters at the ends of twigs to 1-1/2 inches long.
Flower clusters
Elongated
Fruit
Fruit color
Green to light brown
Fruit type
Capsule
Long, narrow and slightly twisted seed capsules, splitting longitudinally along 2 suture lines and releasing numerous flat seeds with a tuft of hairs on either end; 2 halves of the capsule persist on the branches through winter.