At the same time most native desert
plants are shutting down in preparation for the searing heat of summer, Desert
Willows, aka Chilopsis linearis, are
emerging from a cool winter season of dormancy. Named for their long, slender
willow-like leaves, Desert Willows are one of the only Sonoran desert natives
that bloom throughout the summer. They are also one of our only winter
deciduous natives, dropping their leaves in late October, and not renewing them
until late spring.
Flamboyant pink flowers burst forth
in May, scenting the air with sweet perfume to attract pollinators, mostly
large bees and the occasional hummingbird. The ruffled blossoms and luxurious
leaves seem extravagant in the arid climate where water conservation is the
primary adaptation of desert plants. Desert willows grow naturally along
arroyos and streams, insuring that moisture is plentiful. They do especially
well in well-watered suburban landscapes.
Known as chimov by the Hualapai people and aan by the Pima tribe, Desert Willow is not a true willow in the
botanical sense, but a member of a family of tropical plants called the
Bignonias, named after Jean-Paul Bignon, a Frenchman who served in the royal
court of King Louis XIV of France. The family of over 650 species includes
several domesticated trees, shrubs and vines that have been imported to the
Phoenix area from all over the world, including Jacaranda from Brazil, Cat-claw
Vine from Mexico, plus Catalpa, Calabash and Trumpet Vine from southeastern
North America. Horticulturists in Uzbekistan developed a popular hybrid between
catalpa and desert willow known as “Chitalpa.”
The “Rio Salado” variety of desert willow is a cultivar with deep purple
and magenta flowers.
Indigenous people used the leaves
for medicinal purposes as an anti-fungal, a good treatment for athlete’s foot
and candida. Teas made of leaves, bark and flowers have been used to treat
coughs; poultices can help heal cuts and abrasions. The flexible limbs are
excellent for making bows and baskets. Although humans have not used Desert
Willow for food, birds and insects thrive on the nectar and other wildlife
feast on the leaves.
At summers end, long skinny
seedpods dangle from the tips of desert willow branches where flowers once
were, soon to dry and split open to release hundreds of feathery seeds that are
carried by the wind to chance landing in a sunny spot next to a desert stream.
