Cevallia Species, Stinging Serpent, Stinging Cevallia

Beautiful and interesting flowers. I picked some to take inside to use to identify the plant name. While I could feel that it had a rough...Read Moreness from the hairs on it, I didn't notice it producing any stinging in my hands or fingers. After reading that it is a stinging plant, but not having experienced the stinging, I rubbed it on some more tender skin on my belly and the underside of my arms. The stinging took a minute or so to kick in and was somewhat bothersome for about 15 minutes and it did produce some redness and small bumps on the skin. The stinging did not seem to be nearly as bad as my memories of being stung by stinging nettle. Unable to find any information online as to the plants' edibility, I sampled a small piece of a leaf and it tasted like more so I ate several more leaves. I found it to be decidedly delicious with the hairs providing an interesting mouthfeel. It tastes very green and reminds me somewhat of Moringa. The leaves I ate were mostly dehydrated due to sitting around for a couple days in our desert environment after having been picked. The flowers aren't bad tasting but have a cottony or feathery mouthfeel I don't care much for.

This plant is native to west texas and grows well in rocky/sandy soil. It is a painful plant. Some people receive painful blisters afte...Read Morer contact with this plant. I would not recommend this plant for xeriscaping. It is not a friendly plant.

A beautiful plant but do not touch. Stinging Serpent is its name for a reason!

This plant is native to the U.S. and grows in AZ, NM, TX and OK.