Featured Plant

Anchor plant (Colletia paradoxa (Spreng.) Escal.) is a unique shrub from South America. It is native to northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay. In this range Colletia paradoxa grows in temperate, dry regions. It is also able to fix nitrogen into a usable form, allowing it to grow in nutrient poor soils.

In Brazil, Colletia paradoxa is considered to be endangered due to habitat loss and the invasion of nonnative plant species. The anchor plant is also not very common in cultivation, though it was introduced into cultivation in California in 1909 by Dr. Francesco Franceschi. Dr. Franceschi was an Italian horticulturist focused on introducing new species to California that were suitable for its Mediterranean climate.

The structure of Colletia paradoxa is visually quite unique. The flattened triangles protruding from the stem are actually an extension of the stem, called cladodes or cladophylls. These cladodes act as leaves and are photosynthetic, with the chlorophyll necessary for the process giving them their green hue. The plant does produce small leaves on its new growth, but they are deciduous and fall off quickly. The cladodes are arranged opposite from each other on the stem, appearing like the anchor of a ship, giving the plant its common name. These “anchors” are tipped with small, sharp spines, protecting the species from grazing animals.