Branching stems of this low-climbing, twining vine can reach 24 feet long. It sprawls over bushes, flowers, and grasses with its long leaf petioles twisting for leverage around stems and twigs. Note the showy pure, light-blue to purple, snapdragon-like flowers, and the triangular leaves.

FLOWER: April–July. Tubular flowers, 3/4–1 1/4-inches long (2–3 cm), have an upper and lower lip, each with 3 lobes and dark nectar guide lines. The lower lip has raised ridges lined with short hairs. The calyx cupping the flower tube has 5 long, pointed sepals. The pedicel (stalk) of each flower is less than 3/8-inch long (1 cm). The sepals form a net-veined, oval covering that encases the 1/4-inch long (6–8 mm) capsule filled with tiny seeds.

LEAVES: Alternate. Leaf petioles (stems) 1 1/4–2-inches long (3–5 cm) twist around stems and twigs for leverage. Blades to 2-inches long (5 cm), triangular with pointed basal lobes.

HABITAT: Sandy soils of dunes, hills, stream sides, plains; desert sandy lands, pinyon-juniper, oak-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 4,000–6,500 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM, TX; Mexico.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Snapdragon Vine, Maurandella antirrhiniflora, in much the same range and habitat, has a smaller leaf, to 1-inch long, and smaller flowers with a yellow to white throat that is constricted, almost closed.

NM COUNTIES: In the western half and se counties of NM in low-elevation, sandy habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Eddy, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, San Juan, Sandoval, Socorro, Valencia.