Greenleaf Five Eyes

Greenleaf Five Eyes, Chamaesaracha coronopus,  is an unobtrusive little native flower that grows in deserts and dry sandy soil in the uplands of the western part of the US.  A pale, yellowish green, this flower appears in the late spring and blooms all summer.  In the fall the flowers are followed by yellow seed pods that are edible, but without much flavor.

The leaves are green, of a linear, narrowly elliptic shape, 1/2 to 3 inches long. Covered in fine white hairs, the leaves alternate along the stem.  The plant sprawls along the ground, rarely growing to a height greater than 10 inches.

The flowers are flat, 3/4 to 1 inch wide, and have fused sepals and petals with a raised white spot at each petal base and 5 stamens.

The Greenleaf Five Eyes is a member of the Nightshade family and is also known as Small Groundcherry and Green False Nightshade.

Greenleaf Five Eyes.  Photo taken at the Aztec Ruins National Monument in 

Aztec, New Mexico, September, 2013.