''Leucophyllum'' (barometer bush or barometerbush) is a genus of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s in the

figwort The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of ''Scrophularia'' all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers for ...

family,

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

, native to the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is sometimes placed in the family Myoporaceae. The dozen-odd species are often called "sages", although they have no relationship to the genus ''

Salvia ''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, Herbaceous plant, herbaceous Perennial plant, perennials, and Annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part o ...

''. The solitary axillary flowers are bell- or funnel-shaped, with five lobes and two lips, and colors ranging from white to magenta to purple. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words λευκός (''leukos''), meaning "white," and φυλλον (''phyllos''), meaning "

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

," referring to the trichome-covered foliage. These shrubs are found in

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s and have a high salt tolerance. They have become popular for edge and area plantings in warmer areas and in

xeriscaping Xeriscaping is the process of Garden design, landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acce ...

; they require minimal water, are easily shaped into

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

s, and bloom over their entire surface.

Cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s of '' L. frutescens'', '' L. candidum'', '' L. laevigatum'', '' L. langmaniae'', '' L. pruinosum'', '' L. revolutum'', and '' L. zygophyllum'' have been developed. ''Leucophyllum'' shrubs are legendary for their ability to "forecast" rain, usually blooming several days prior to a rainstorm, apparently in response to humidity. They are sometimes called "

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

bush" for this reason. It is believed to be a survival trait in the plants' semi-desert habitats.

Selected species

*'' Leucophyllum alejandrae'' G.L. Nesom *'' Leucophyllum ambiguum'' Bonpl. *''

Leucophyllum candidum ''Leucophyllum'' (barometer bush or barometerbush) is a genus of evergreen shrubs in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is sometimes placed in the family Myoporaceae. The dozen-odd speci ...

'' I.M.Johnst. – Brewster County barometer bush *'' Leucophyllum flyrii'' B.L. Turner *''

Leucophyllum frutescens ''Leucophyllum frutescens'' is an evergreen shrub in the Scrophularia, figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the official "State Native Shrub of Texas", and to the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Ta ...

'' ( Berland.) I.M.Johnst. – Texas sage, Texas ranger, silverleaf *''

Leucophyllum hintoniorum ''Leucophyllum'' (barometer bush or barometerbush) is a genus of evergreen shrubs in the Scrophularia, figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is sometimes placed in the family Myoporaceae. The do ...

'' G.L. Nesom *'' Leucophyllum laevigatum'' Standl. – Chihuahuan sage *'' Leucophyllum langmaniae'' Flyr – Langman's sage, Rio Bravo sage *'' Leucophyllum minus'' A.Gray – Big Bend barometer bush *'' Leucophyllum mojinense'' Henrickson & T. Van Devender *'' Leucophyllum pringlei'' (Greenm.) Standl. *'' Leucophyllum pruinosum'' I.M.Johnst. *'' Leucophyllum revolutum'' Rzed. *'' Leucophyllum ultramonticola'' Flyr *'' Leucophyllum zygophyllum'' I.M.Johnst.

Hybrids

*''Leucophyllum'' × 'Heavenly Cloud' (''L. frutescens'' 'Green Cloud' × ''L. laevigatum'') *''Leucophyllum'' × 'Rain Cloud' (''L. frutescens'' × ''L. minus'')

References

External links

Page on ''L. frutescens'' from Texas Native Plants Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2702896 Scrophulariaceae Scrophulariaceae genera Flora of Mexico Flora of the United States Taxa named by Alexander von Humboldt Taxa named by Aimé Bonpland