Matelea parvifolia

Matelea parvifolia
Matelea parvifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Genus: Matelea
Species: M. parvifolia
Binomial name
Matelea parvifolia
(Torr.) Woodson

Matelea parvifolia is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family known by the common names spearleaf and talayote. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in and on the edges of deserts. It is a perennial herb with a branching, twining green stem lined sparsely with heart-shaped leaves no more than 2 centimeters long. The flowers appear in the leaf axils. They are purplish or brownish green in color with a nub at each inner corner of the corolla lobes. The fruit is a long follicle which may be up to 7 centimeters long.

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