Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

desert-willow Bignoniaceae Chilopsis linearis (Cav.) Sweet Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: CHLI2
Leaf: Alternate and opposite or whorled, linear, often slightly curved, 3 to 5 inches long, 1/4 to 3/8 inches wide, green above.
Flower: Attractive, bell shaped, 1 inch long, white to pale lavender with purple and yellow streaks inside throat, appear in long clusters at the ends of twigs in late spring and summer.
Fruit: Long thin slightly twisted brown capsule, 6 to 12 inches long, containing numerous fluffy, winged seeds, ripen in fall.
Twig: Slender, initially green turning gray-brown, buds are very small.
Bark: Gray-brown with lighter colored cracks and splits, later develops shallow furrows and becomes scaly.
Form: Large shrub to small tree, reaches heights of 30 feet, often with a twisted crown.
 Looks like: oleander

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Additional Range Information: Chilopsis linearis is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information