Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Apache plume Rosaceae Fallugia paradoxa (D. Don) Endl. ex Torr. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: FAPA
Leaf: Alternate, simple, drought deciduous, 1/ 2 inch long, obovate, 3 to 7 deep rounded lobes, blue-green above and yellow-green beneath.
Flower: Attractive, 5 white petals, 1 to 1 1/2 inches across, yellowish center, rose-like, appearing in spring.
Fruit: Numerous small seeds with long (1 inch) pinkish white feathery plumes, very numerous, appearing in summer.
Twig: Slender, light gray-brown, numerous short tufts of foliage.
Bark: Light gray-brown, irregularly ridged and furrowed, a bit shreddy.
Form: Small multi-stemmed, straggly shrub 3 to 5 feet tall.
 Looks like: bitterbrush - Stansbury cliffrose - big sagebrush

Apache plume leaf image
Apache plume flower image
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Additional Range Information: Fallugia paradoxa 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
All material 2025 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