About Tetracoccus hallii Brandegee
Tetracoccus hallii Brandegee is a bushy, branching shrub. It is hairless overall, except for its new twigs which bear rough hairs. Small leaves grow in clusters along the branches; each leaf is leathery, teardrop-shaped, and only a few millimeters long. The species is dioecious, meaning male and female individual plants produce different types of flowers. Male (staminate) flowers grow in clusters, and each individual flower has 4 to 6 rounded sepals and 4 to 8 erect stamens. Female (pistillate) flowers grow singly. This species blooms from January through May, across habitats ranging from the lower Sonoran Desert to the higher Mojave Desert. It produces a rounded, woolly fruit that usually has three chambers. When mature, the fruit is about one centimeter long, and each chamber holds one or two seeds. Tetracoccus hallii is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert. Its range covers southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona in the United States, plus Baja California state in Mexico. It grows in many types of desert habitat, including creosote bush scrub, at elevations below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). It is abundant and widespread in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.
