Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Menodora scabra is a species of flowering plant in the olive family known by the common name rough menodora. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in varied mountain, plateau, and desert habitat. It is a small, multibranched subshrub producing several upright stems no more than 30 centimeters tall. It is coated in rough hairs and short, woolly fibers. The leaves are oblong or oval in shape, smooth along the edges, and alternately arranged on the branches. They are one or two centimeters long, the larger leaves located lower on the plant. The flower cluster is a loose cluster of yellow flowers at the tip of a stem branch. The flower corolla has 4 to 6 lobes with the stamens and stigma protruding from the short throat. The fruit is a capsule.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

1 ft Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Fast

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Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Summer

Special uses

Groundcover

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Site type

Rocky soils, canyons

Plant communities

Joshua Tree Woodland