Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

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

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Pedaliaceae or Pedalium Family

The Pedaliaceae or Pedalium family is a small family in the large order Scrophulariales. The family has approximately 14 genera and 70 species, exclusively from the Old World (tropical and dry habitats). The Pedalium family includes forbs/herbs or shrubs. This family was, and still is by some included in the Martyniaceae family which was re-classified with results of phylogenetic studies.

Common or shared family traits include; spurred flowers, plants covered in mucilaginous hairs which gives the stems and leaves a slimy or clammy feel, the fruits often have hooks or horns.

An important genus, Sesamum with approximately 20 species include annual, perennial forbs/herbs with edible seeds. The Sesame plant (Sesamum orientale) is the source of sesame seeds. Sesamum indicum is widely cultivated and naturalized in tropical regions.

Species of Pedaliaceae contained within The Plant List belong to 14 plant genera. The Plant List includes 194 scientific plant names of species rank for the family Pedaliaceae. Of these 67 are accepted species names.

The USDA Plants.gov website shows that North America has 5 species in Proboscidea.

The USDA Plants.gov also reports that Arizona has 2 species in Proboscidea, California has 3 species, New Mexico has 4 species and Texas has 5 species.

The Plant List includes 33 species rank for the genus Proboscidea. Of these 10 are accepted species names.

  • Proboscidea althaeifolia, Desert Unicorn-plant
  • Proboscidea parviflora, Doubleclaw
  • Date Family Profile Completed: 04/08/2016
    References:
    U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database.
    The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 04/10/2016).
    http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Martyniaceae/Proboscidea/#statistics
    http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Pedaliaceae/#statistics
    Wikipedia contributors, 'Pedaliaceae', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 November 2015, 03:14 UTC,
    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedaliaceae&oldid=689129865> [accessed 10 April 2016]
    Wikipedia contributors, 'Sesamum', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 January 2015, 23:28 UTC,
    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sesamum&oldid=642525104> [accessed 10 April 2016]
    Encyclopædia Britannica. "Lamiales". Encyclopædia Britannica Online., Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016;
    http://www.britannica.com/plant/Lamiales