Scientific Name: Haplophyton crooksii
Synonym: Haplophyton cimicidum
Common Names: Cockroachplant, Cockroach Plant
Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert. It grows on rocky slopes and in the mountain foothills.
Flower Color: Bright yellow
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall
Height: 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and have 5 oval, overlapping petals that look like a pinwheel when opening. The flowers are followed by v-shaped fruits. The leaves are lanceolate, green, stippled with white hairs, and up to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long.
Poisonous – The plants are poisonous, and an extract of the leaves can be used as an insecticide to kill insects like cockroaches.
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Family: Apocynaceae – Dogbane family
Genus: Haplophyton A. DC. – haplophyton
Species: Haplophyton crooksii (L.D. Benson) L.D. Benson – cockroachplant
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