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| ## Devil's claw {#devils-claw .Title-Header}                          |
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| *Proboscidea parviflora* (Woot.) Woot. & Standl                       |
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| Plant Symbol = PRPA2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & UC Davis
Arboretum

### 

# Alternative Names

unicorn plant, doubleclaw, Arizona devil's claw, red devil's claw

# Use

*Ethnobotanic*: The claws of the mature seedpods of devil\'s claw were
collected in autumn, split and used to create black basketry designs by
many tribes in southern California and the Southwest. These tribes
include the Chemehuevi, Kawaiisu, Owens Valley Paiute, Tubatulabal,
Havasupai, Papago, and Pima. Because the claws are durable, they were
often used to construct the base of baskets among the Papago and Pima.
The material is still gathered wild or plants are cultivated in home
gardens by contemporary weavers. The Papago used the young pods as food,
while the Pima cracked the seeds between the teeth and ate them like
pine-nuts. To treat rheumatic pains, the Pima broke off a small piece of
the claw and pressed it into the flesh, then lighted it and allowed it
to burn.

*Other Uses*: basketry, medicine, food, wildlife

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious
status, and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Martynia Family (Martyniaceae). This annual plant has broadly
ovate-triangular leaf blades 5-15 cm wide that are entire to shallowly
3-7 lobed. The inflorescence is 4-10 flowered and ranges from white to
pink. The throat of the corolla is mottled purple with two lines of
purplish spots or not. The nectar guides are yellow. The fruits have
beaks or claws and black seeds. The plants from the desert have white
seeds with claws that are greater than 18 cm long and have been called
var. *hohokamiana*.![](media/image2.png){width="2.696527777777778in"
height="2.082638888888889in"}

# Distribution

Found in disturbed dry places below 1000 m. in the deserts of
southwestern California to Arizona, southern Nevada, to western Texas
and northern Mexico. For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.4375in" height="2.2916666666666665in"}

W.L. Wagner

Smithsonian Institution, Botany Department

# Establishment

Start devil\'s claw by seed. The seeds should be soaked in warm water in
a clean vessel for 8 hours prior to spring planting. After soaking,
plant the seeds immediately in full sun in a well-drained soil and at a
depth that is the width of the seeds. Water the seeds, keeping the area
slightly moist. After seedlings have appeared, allow the surface of the
soil to dry between watering. In areas with summer rainfall, only
supplement watering if rain is sparse. In areas without summer rainfall,
mimic this rainfall pattern by watering once every 2 to 3 weeks. Once
the seedpods have started to ripen, stop watering. When the seedpods
mature, collect them and shake the seeds to get them out of the pods and
let them air dry in partial shade in a screened-in porch or indoor. Keep
the seeds in a container or paper bag on an open shelf at room
temperature until the next planting cycle, the following spring.
Devil\'s claw does not need protection from wildlife.

# Management

Traditionally, tribes in the Southwest saved the seed from those pods
with longer claws and planted them apart from the others. The longer
claws were highly desirable for basketry design material. Today, this
white seeded form with longer horns is different enough morphologically
to be named as a special domesticated variety of *Proboscidea*
*parviflora* var. *hohokamiana*.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

This species is somewhat available through native plant nurseries within
its range. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service
(formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look
in the phone book under "United States Government." The Natural
Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading
"Department of Agriculture."

# References

Curtin, L.S.M. 1984. *By the prophet of the earth ethnobotany of the
Pima*. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.

Heckard, L.R. 1993. *Martyniaceae*. Pages 762-763 IN *The Jepson Manual:
Higher plants of California.* J.C. Hickman (ed.). University of
California Press, Berkeley, California.

Kearney, T.H. & R.H. Peebles 1960. *Arizona flora*. University of
California Press, Berkeley, California.

Kissell, M.L. 1982*.* *Basketry of the Papago and Pima Indians*.
(Reprint of the 1916 ed. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum
of Natural History 17(4)). Rio Grande Press, Inc., Gloreta, New Mexico.

McKee, B., E. McKee, & J. Herold 194?*.* *Havasupai baskets and their
makers: 1930-1940*. Northland Press.

Nabhan, G.P. 1985. *Gathering the desert*. University of Arizona Press,
Tucson, Arizona.

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--1987. *Plant domestication and
folk-biological change: The upper Piman/devil\'s claw example.* American
Anthropologist 89(1):57-73.

Native Seeds/SEARCH 1999. *Fall seedlisting: Proboscidea parviflora*.
Version: 000329. \<http://www.azstarnet.com/\~nss/catalog/\>. Tucson,
Arizona.

Southwest School of Botanical Medicine 2000. *Proboscidea parviflora*.
Version: 000329.
\<http://chili.rt66.com/hrbmoore/HOMEPAGE/HomePage.html\>. Bisbee,
Arizona.

Strike, S.S. & E.D. Roeder 1994. *Ethnobotany of the California Indians.
Volume 2*. *Aboriginal uses of California\'s indigenous plants*. Koeltz
Scientific Books, Champaign, Illinois.

USDA, NRCS 2000. *The PLANTS database*. Version: 000329.
\<http://plants.usda.gov\>. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana.

Wayne's Word 1999. *Devil's claws*. Vol. 8, No. 1.
\<http://daphne.palomar.edu/wayne/ww0801.htm\>. Version: 000329.
Escondido, California.

# Species Coordinators

## M. Kat Anderson

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis,
California

*Warren Roberts*

Superintendent, UC Davis Arboretum, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited 04dec00 jsp; 29may03 ahv; 060808 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*