Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Menodora scabra, Rough Menodora


Scientific Name: Menodora scabra
Common Name: Rough Menodora
Also Called: Broom Menodora, Broom Twinberry, Twinfruit, Twinberry, Bull Balls
Family: Oleaceae, Olive Family
Synonyms: (Menodora scabra var. glabrescens, Menodora scabra var. laevis, Menodora scabra var. longituba, Menodora scabra var. ramosissima, Menodora scoparia)
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial
Size: 12 inches more or less.
Growth Form: Forb/herb, subshrub; stems scabrid to puberulous, multiple stems, broom-like from base, leafy, base woody, stems erect to ascending.
Leaves: Green; mostly alternate, shape variable oval, ovate, oblong or lanceolate, upper leaves smaller than basal leaves.
Flower Color: Yellow, bright- or pale-yellow; inflorescence loose terminal clusters, calyx lobes 7 or more, pubescent, both anthers and stigma exserted from corolla, fruit circumscissile capsule.
Flowering Season: March to September.
Elevation: 1,500 to 7,500 feet.

Habitat Preferences: Dry mesas, canyons, slopes, rocky hillsides.

Recorded Range: Menodora scabra is found in the southwest United States in AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, TX and UT. It is also native to Baja California and central and northern Mexico.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Menodora scabra.

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

Genus Information: 5 species in Menodora in the southwestern United States. 2 species in Arizona and California, 3 species in New Mexico and 4 species in Texas.

The Plant List includes 44 scientific plant names of species rank for the genus Menodora. Of these 24 are accepted species names.

Comments:

Rough Menodora is used as a Navajo and Ramah drug for various purposes such as analgesic, gastrointestinal, and as a gynecological aid. See ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.

Date Profile Completed: 12/14/2015, updated format 09/28/2017
References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search
Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 12/14/2015).
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Oleaceae/Menodora/#statistics
Wikipedia contributors, 'Menodora scabra', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 August 2014, 19:19 UTC,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Menodora_scabra&oldid=621667118> [accessed 15 December 2015]
Native Plant Information Network, NPIN (2013). Published on the Internet http://www.wildflower.org/plants/ [accessed: 12/14/2015]. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MESC
1993, The Jepson Manual, Citation: http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange/I_treat_indexes.html (accessed 12/14/2015)
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5249,5257,5258
SEINet for synonyms, scientific names, recorded geographic locations and general information
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/.