Bixaceae

Lipstick Tree Family

Arizona Yellowshow

FAMILY: Lipstick tree family (Bixaceae) – Amoreuxia genus. The Amoreuxia genus has traditionally been placed and is sometimes still placed in the yellowshow family (Cochlospermaceae). 

SPECIES: Arizona yellowshow, Mexican yellowshow, saiya, or zaya (Amoreuxia palmatifida Moc. & Sessé ex DC.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Roots, leaves, flowers, immature fruits, and seeds of Arizona yellowshow are edible, but these plants barely reach the southern boundary of the United States. They’re much more common in Mexico, where the Seri Indians and other natives utilized the various parts, especially the roots, as food.

Roots of Arizona yellowshow are white with weakly attached brown skins. They have a mild flavor reminiscent of parsnips combined with a character unique to yellowshows. An earthy accent is often apparent. It’s a good flavor free of excessively acrid, bitter, salty, or unpleasant overtones. A trace of mucilage is normally present and the texture is completely chewable. Even older roots are chewable. Arizona yellowshow roots could easily be the main ingredient for soups or stews. Simmering the roots produces a light brown, moderately sweet, pleasantly aromatic broth. These roots were an important food source to the native people of northwestern Mexico. Arizona yellowshow is a perennial plant that emerges from thick roots. The roots can be gathered anytime they can be found, but they can only be found when aboveground parts are present, which normally ranges from early summer to late autumn.

Leaves of Arizona yellowshow can be eaten fresh, but they’re better as potherbs. Fresh leaves have a decent flavor similar to spinach, and a slimy texture. Boiled leaves taste similar, but definitely better. The resulting broth is thick and slightly more appealing than the leaves. Gathering and processing the leaves is easy. Stems and leafstalks are long, tough, and fibrous. They need to be removed. Leaf blades can be eaten without much chewing effort required. Few other plants in southern Arizona, except other yellowshows and ragged jatropha (Jatropha macrorhiza), have similar leaves, so the probability of misidentification is low. Arizona yellowshow responds to summer rainfall. Leaves are among the first parts to appear in summer. They’re also among the last parts to disappear in autumn. Leaves of suitable quality can be gathered anytime before they wither. After that point, they can be read like signs to locate the roots. Eventually, they crumble and drift away in the dry desert winds and the root locations are lost until the following year.

Flowers of Arizona yellowshow are delicious. Despite the name, the flowers may be more orange than yellow. Regardless of color, they make a vibrant addition to salads, and the stamens provide a touch of sweetness. Arizona yellowshow flowers are low in mucilage, free of harsh accents, and better-tasting than the leaves. They normally bloom from July to September and close by midday to avoid withering in the searing heat of summer.

Fruits of Arizona yellowshow appear plump from the outside, but they’re merely balloon-like skins covering a few seeds. Interior portions are hollow. Young fruits (capsules) have soft green skins, but fleshy layers are almost nonexistent. Mature fruits become dry, papery, and unsuitable to use as food, except as a source of seeds. Fresh young fruits are low in mucilage and taste similar to green beans combined with a fruity accent. A character unique to yellowshows suggestive of incense is also apparent. It’s not a bad flavor. The young fruits make an interesting addition to stir-fries. Developing seeds inside are soft. Arizona yellowshow fruits are a decent wild food, but to use them as vegetables, they need to be gathered before they dry out, which generally occurs from early to mid autumn.

Seeds of Arizona yellowshow are initially white, tender, and kidney-shaped. As the fruit capsules mature in autumn, the seeds turn reddish- or blackish-brown and firm. Actual seeds are shiny, and surrounded by fuzzy, loosely attached coatings. Spherical seeds inside elongated capsules would indicate a rare species called Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii), which should be left in the field. Seeds were the only part of Arizona yellowshow not sampled for this reference.

IDENTIFICATION: Only 3 species of the Amoreuxia genus are found in the United States, all of which are confined to the Southwest. Differences between the 3 species are exceedingly minor. Plants with hairy midveins, tapering fruits over 4 cm long, silky ovaries, and round seeds are the rare Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii), which is protected under Arizona state law. Texas yellowshow (A. wrightii), which is not reported to be edible, occurs in isolated locations along the Rio Grande River in southern Texas. Except for having somewhat narrower leaf lobe bases, it’s virtually identical to Arizona yellowshow.

Description of Arizona yellowshow (Amoreuxia palmatifida): FORM small, perennial plant from thick roots; LEAVES simple; alternate; stalks long; blades deeply palmately lobed with 5-7 finger-like segments; margins toothed; surfaces completely hairless; FLOWERS irregular, perfect, ovary superior, showy, and arranged in few-flowered cymes or racemes; petals 5, orange-yellow with 0-2 basal red spots; styles and stigmas 1; stamens numerous and arranged in 3 groups that consist of two types differing in length and color; one type with long filaments and purple anthers; the other type with shorter filaments and cream-yellow anthers; FRUITS capsules plump, hollow, and less than 4 cm long; SEEDS reddish- or blackish-brown, firm, kidney-shaped, and surrounded by a hairy, loosely attached coating; HABITAT open hillsides and rocky plains in southeastern Arizona; blooming July to September.

REFERENCES: Arizona yellowshow (Amoreuxia palmatifida): roots, leaves, flowers, immature fruits, and seeds Hodgson (pp. 91-94).