Fallugia Paradoxa (D. Don) Endlicher
Viridiplantae > Streptophyta > Streptophytina > Embryophyta > Tracheophyta > Euphyllophyta > Spermatophyta > Magnoliopsida > Mesangiospermae > eudicotyledons > Gunneridae > Pentapetalae > rosids > fabids > Rosales > Rosaceae > Rosoideae > Colurieae > Fallugia > Fallugia Paradoxa [1]
![Flower and fruit of Fallugia paradoxa [2].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-first.jpg)
Flower and fruit of Fallugia paradoxa [2].
Shrubs 1.5-2 m tall, bark scaly, white to light tan in color. Leaves 4-16 mm long, wedge-shaped (cuneate) to fan-shaped (flabbelate), 3-5-lobed, green and scaly (lepidote) with star-shaped hairs above, rusty-lepidote beneath; pedicels 2-18 mm long; sepals 4-7 (-11) mm long, broadly egg-shaped (ovate), abruptly acuminate-cuspidate apically; petals 5, 11-14 mm long, 8-15 mm wide, white; pistils numerous; style plumose, 2-4 cm long in fruit, persistent [3].
![Leaf of Fallugia paradoxa [4]](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-sec.jpg)
Leaf of Fallugia paradoxa [4]
One of the most distinctive features of Fallugia paradoxa are the numerous whimsical, plumose, feathery-hairy styles on top of the seeds that form a spiral pattern when in fruit. These fruits have evolved to be wind dispersed. The Cliffrose, Purshia stansburyana, has evolved similar dispersal but has five or fewer styles whereas Apache Plume has 50-120 per flower [5]. It is not recommended to dig the plants to look at the roots, but the two differ in their root structures as well. Fallugia paradoxa has a rhizomal growth pattern that leads to dense thickets in populations whereas Purshia stansburyana grows deep taproots and is less likely to be found in dense populations [5]. This plant can also be confused with Purshia tridentata as they have similar leaves. However, the flower and fruits are drastically different: the flowers of P. tridentata have yellow, spatulate petals that are much wider at the tip than at the base, creating space between the petals, and the fruits have a short, hard beak-like structure [3]. In contrast, F. paradoxa has rounded white petals and numerous pink plumose, feathery fruits.
Fallugia paradoxa is the only member of the monotypic genus Fallugia [1]. This species has been known under many names including F. acuminata, F. mexicana, F. micrantha, F. paradoxa var. acuminata, Geum cercocarpoides, G. paradoxum, G. plumosum, and Sieversia paradoxa [9]. This species was described to western science twice in 1825 with David Don describing it as Sieversia paradoxa based on a collection of illustrations made during the Sesse and Mocifio expeditions from 1707-1803. In the same year and based on the same drawings, Seringe published it in the Geum genus [5]. The Apache Plume is said to form hybrids with Mexican cliffrose (Purshia mexicana var. mexicana) and Stansbury cliffrose (Purshia stansburyana) [10]. Because of these hybrids and the sympatric habit of the two species, some think that the closest relative of Fallugia is Purshia, but there are suggestions based on molecular data that the closest genus is actually Geum, which is one of the genera that it was first described under [5].
![Apache plume (F. paradoxa) fruit [6]](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-identification1.jpg)
Fruits forming on P. tridentata [6].
![Cliffrose (Purshia stansburyana) fruit [7]](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-identification2.jpg)
Cliffrose (Purshia stansburyana) fruit [7]
![Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) fruit [8]](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-identification3.jpg)
Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) fruit [8]
![Mature fruit of Fallugia paradoxa [12].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-third.jpg)
Mature fruit of Fallugia paradoxa [12].
The Hopi steeped leaves of Fallugia Paradoxa and applied the liquid as a hair rinse to promote hair growth and cleanse their hair. The root was boiled with water to treat coughs and the spring twigs have been made into a tea to treat indigestion [13]. The Havasupai used the plant as the top ring in their baskets [14] and they and the Hualapai tribes used the plant to build cradleboards [15]. The Isleta and other tribes used the long straight branches as arrow shafts for fishing and hunting [16]. This desert plant may have been discovered to western science in 1825, but it has had a relationship with humans and has been used for many things for much longer than that. It can now be seen as an ornamental in many drought tolerant, native gardens and landscaping.
![Distribution map by county for Fallugia paradoxa [10].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/apacheplume-fourth.jpg)
Distribution map by county for Fallugia paradoxa [10].
In areas where conservation data has been taken, Apache Plume is considered secure and not in danger of extinction [17].
Fallugia paradoxa is native to the southwest and can be found in arid desert woodlands, such as pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine forests as well as gravelly flats, rocky slopes, and in alluvial soils from 3500 to 7500 feet in elevation. It tends to form in thickets in flats and washes [11].
U.S. Forest Service Fire Effects Information System
[1] Schoch CL, et al. NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools. Database (Oxford). 2020: baaa062. PubMed: 32761142 PMC: PMC7408187. Taxonomy Browser, Fallugia paradoxa.
[2] J. N. Stuart. Photo. Apache Plume. Fallugia paradoxa. Near Santa Fe, NM. 23 Jun 2008. Flickr. Accessed 9 Jan 2024.
[3] Welsh, Stanley L., et al. A Utah Flora. Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, 2016.
[4] Lavin, M. Photo. Apache plume is common on exposed sunny slopes in the Grand Canyon area from the south Kaibab Plateau to Bright Angel trail. 24 May 2011. Flickr. Accessed 16 January 2024.
[5] Henrickson, James (2001) "Systematics and Relationships of Fallugia (Rosoideae—Rosaceae)," Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany: Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 3.
[6] Mayfield , T. (2021). Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa). Photograph. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallugia_paradoxa_163852449.jpg
[7] Shebs , S. (2006). Purshia stansburiana in Lovell Canyon, Spring Mountains, southern Nevada. photograph. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purshia_stansburiana_10.jpg
[8] Botany, A. (2017). Fruits forming on antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata). photograph, Idaho Botanical Garden. https://awkwardbotany.com/2017/03/29/seed-dispersal-via-caching-the-story-of-antelope-bitterbrush/
[9] Taxonomy Search Fallugia Paradoxa.” Arctos Database, arctos.database.museum/taxonomy.cfm. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.
[10] “Species: Fallugia Paradoxa.” Fire Effects Information System USDA, www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/falpar/all.html. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.
[11] Buren, Renée Van. Woody Plants of Utah: A Field Guide with Identification Keys to Native and Naturalized Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Cacti. Utah State University Press, 2011.
[12] O. David. Apache Plume. 25 April 2010. Wikimedia commons. Accessed 26 January 2024. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apache_Plume_(4556985820).jpg
[13] "Plant Database.” Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin, www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=fapa. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024. /p>
[14] Weber, Steven A. and P. David Seaman, 1985, Havasupai Habitat: A. F. Whiting's Ethnography of a Traditional Indian Culture, Tucson. The University of Arizona Press, page 223
[15] Watahomigie, Lucille J., 1982, Hualapai Ethnobotany, Peach Springs, AZ. Hualapai Bilingual Program, Peach Springs School District #8, page 37
[16] “Plant Database.” Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin, www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=fapa. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.
[17] Fallugia Paradoxa. NatureServe Explorer 2.0. (2024). https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147675/Fallugia_paradoxa
