Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa)

NPS Photo/Hallie Larsen

Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) is a spectacular shrub, native to Arizona. The leaves are highly divided and very small. The spring/summer flowers are pretty with five white petals, developing into feathery pink fluff-balls of seed-heads. The feathers help disperse the seeds. The often-large shrubs can form thickets. Indigenous people used the plant various parts ceremonially, as a shampoo, basket weaving, furniture, and arrow construction.