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Rosaceae
Cliff Rose
Purshia mexicana
endurance on the edge.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Genus
- Purshia
- Native to
- Southwestern USA, northern Mexico
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- shrub
- Height
- 5-12 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- rocky, dry, alkaline
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 5-9
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Cliff rose grows on the same canyon rim and rocky desert habitats as Utah juniper and pinyon pine, forming the characteristic scrubland of the Colorado Plateau.
- The Navajo and Hopi peoples used its shredded bark to weave sandals, mats, and padding for cradle boards — one of the most versatile native fibers of the Southwest.
- After flowering, each seed develops a long, feathery plume (2–3 inches) that catches wind and acts as a parachute to disperse it across canyon country.
- Deer and bighorn sheep browse the foliage heavily in winter when other food is scarce, earning it the Navajo name 'deer plant.'
- It can live for several hundred years — ancient individual plants on isolated canyon ledges where grazing animals can't reach are thought to be among the oldest shrubs in the region.
Color meanings
0
endurance
1
sparse beauty
2
adaptability