Funastrum cynanchoides (Decne.) Schltr. subsp. cynanchoides

This is a common weedy vine along fences and the like in Las Cruces. The flowers are quite fragrant, and in scent as well as habitat and general appearance this is the New Mexican equivalent of the weedy Ampelamus albidus in the eastern United States. The broken vegetation, on the other hand, is quite unpleasant. Taxonomy of Funastrum cynanchoides is rather uncertain. B.L. Turner (Phytologia 90: 36-40) split the two subspecies (cynanchoides and hartwegii) into two separate species, but his treatment is totally unworkable and nearly incoherent when applied to plants in New Mexico. Barring further insight into these taxa, I am simply calling those with fairly wide leaves "subsp. cynanchoides" and those with very narrow leaves "subsp. hartwegii".

An inflorescence in front of Foster Hall on the NMSU campus, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, 22 Aug 2004.

A flower in front of Foster Hall, 22 Aug 2004.