Condalia globosa var. pubescens

Spiny abrojo, Spiny Abrojo

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Spiny abrojo is a native shrub found in the Sonoran Desert in desert scrub habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces small flowers in clusters of 1 to 8, with olive-green to purple hypanthiums. Growing up to 4 meters tall with smooth gray bark and pale olive-green or purple twigs covered in short hairs, it develops dense clusters of 2 to 7 narrow leaves. Its leaves are narrowly oblanceolate to obovate, 3 to 12 millimeters long, with a wedge-shaped base and a slightly thickened texture covered in sparse to dense hairs. The plant produces small black, juicy fruits 3 to 5 millimeters long that contrast with its spiny, textured branches.

Habitat: Desert scrub

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: Imperial, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.