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Paperbag Bush (Scutellaria mexicana)
Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Mexican bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage, entire plant

General: Paperbag Bush (Scutellaria mexicana), also called Paperbag Bush, is an upright, dome-shaped, many-branched shrub with thin twigs that come off the stems at nearly right angles, giving the plant a thin, twiggy appearance. Flowers are purple, pea-type flowers with deep throats. The fruits are diagnostic: they are small (1/2-inch diameter) papery bags with seeds inside, which explains the common name "Paperbag" Bush.

When the fruits are ripe, the paperbags drop off the twigs and blow across the landscape carrying the seeds away from the parent plant to, hopefully, germinate somewhere else.

Paperbag Bush is a fairly common component of wash communities on upper bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. It can be found beyond the washes, but it is most common along washes.

Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican bladdersage flower

Family: Mint (Lamiaceae).

Other Names: Mexican Bladdersage, Salazaria mexicana.

Plant Form: Upright many-branched shrub with long thin twigs.

Height: 3-4, to about 5 feet.

Bark: green

Stems: Twigs come off branches at nearly right angles; rigid.

Leaves: Oval, to about 1/2-inch long, margin entire.

Mexican bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican bladdersage dried fruits -- the paperbags

Flowers: Blooms March to June, and then again in the fall (as late as late November) if conditions permit. Inflorescences axillary at last few nodes on stem, two small flowers per node; flowers purple, 2-lipped; calyx expands to from a hollow, bladder-like fruit 1/2 to 3/4-inch in diameter.

Seeds: Fruit: 4 nutlets. Nutlets small and round.

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils and washes on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: 3,500 to 6,000 feet.

Distribution: Southwestern U.S. California to Utah and Texas, south into northern Mexico.

Comments:

Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Plants most often occur in or near washes
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Sometimes plants are found on mountain hillsides
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Dried plants during summer and winter
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Dried plants during summer and winter
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Dried plants during summer and winter
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Dried plants during summer and winter
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Stem structure: twigs occur at right angles (useful for ID without leaves)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Leaves are opposite
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Leaves are opposite
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Two flower buds and a developing fruit
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth (arrows)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth (arrows)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Flower emerges from urn-shaped perianth
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage blooming in November
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage blooming in November
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana) Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Developing paperbags
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Developing paperbags
Mexican bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Ripening paperbags
Mexican bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Ripening paperbags
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Four developing seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Four developing seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Three developing seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Three developing seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)Four ripe seeds (the maximum number) inside a paperbag Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Four ripe seeds (the maximum number) inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican Bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Three ripe seeds inside a paperbag
Mexican bladdersage (Salazaria mexicana)
Only two ripe seeds inside a paperbag

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240701

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