Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

Conspicuous in late summer along roadsides and dry streambeds, the large number of yellow flowers and the widespread presence of these much branched, annual plants justify the inclusion of Jackass-clover in this booklet as one of the common flowers of the desert.

The plant ranges across the Southwest from western Texas to southern California at elevations between 1,000 and 6,500 feet. The flowers themselves are small, although the flower heads are quite conspicuous.

Since the leaves somewhat resemble the tri-foliate leaves of Clover, the plant is commonly called Jackass-clover. It is usually found in sandy locations.

YELLOW

Common names: EVENING-PRIMROSE, SUNDROP
Arizona and California deserts: (_Oenothera brevipes_). Yellow.
March-May.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Oenothera primiveris_). Yellow. March-May.
Evening-primrose family. Size: Usually low, but some up to 5 feet.

Among the commonest but most beautiful and delicate of the flowering plants of the desert are the Evening-primroses. Flowers are usually large, with the four petals either white or yellow, turning to red or pink with age. Many species are low-growing herbs with large, delicate petals; while others may be shrub-like, sometimes attaining a height of 5 feet. As the name implies, the flowers open in the evening and wilt soon after sunrise.

In the low, warmer sections of the desert, plants in blossom may be found as early as February.

YELLOW

Common names: ALGERITA, BARBERRY, HOLLYGRAPE
Arizona desert: (_Berberis haematocarpa_). Yellow. February-April.
California desert: (_Berberis fremonti_). Yellow. May-July.
Texas desert. (_Berberis trifoliolata_). Yellow. Spring.
Barberry family. Size: Shrubs, 3 to 8 feet.

The pendant clusters of golden blossoms are particularly noticeable because of their delightful fragrance, and the small purple berries are juicy and of pleasant flavor. They make excellent jelly and are readily eaten by birds and some of the small mammals. Due to the holly-like leaves and the fragrant blossoms and fruits, the plants would make attractive ornamentals for landscape and decorative plantings were it not for the fact that they are secondary hosts for the black stem rust of the cereals, hence cannot be used in communities where grains are grown. Indians use the root as a tonic, and obtain from it a brilliant yellow dye.

Some botanists prefer to use the generic name _Mahonia_ or _Odostemon_ for this group of plants.

YELLOW

Common names: BLADDERPOD, BEAD-POD
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Lesquerella gordoni_). Yellow.
February-May.
California desert: (_Lesquerella palmeri_). Yellow. March-May.
Mustard family. Size: 6 to 8 inches high.

Extensive sections of the desert are gilded in springtime with this low-growing annual herb which is one of the earliest of the desert flowers.

Following moist winters, it covers dry mesas and plains below 4,000 feet from Oklahoma west to Utah, and southward into northern Mexico. After the seed pods have matured, the plant is reported to furnish valuable forage for range stock.

YELLOW

Common names: BUFFALO-GOURD, COYOTE-MELON, (_CALABAZILLA_), (_CHILI
COYOTE_)
Arizona desert: (_Cucurbita digitata_). Yellow. June-October.
California desert: (_Cucurbita palmata_). Yellow. July-September.
Texas desert: (_Cucurbita foetidissima_). Yellow. May-August.
Gourd family. Size: Trailing perennial with stems 4 to 15 feet long.

Gourds are conspicuous, trailing, rank-growing plants common along roadsides and in the open desert. Leaves are grayish-green, and blossoms yellow and trumpet-shaped. The striped fruits are about the size and shape of a tennis ball, although some are egg-shaped.

The fruits which are very conspicuous after the vines and leaves have been winter-killed, are sometimes collected, painted in gay colors, and used as ornaments about the house.

Although Indians considered the fruits as inferior and suitable only for coyotes, they ate them either cooked or dried, and made the seeds into a mush. Pioneers used the crushed roots of these plants as a cleansing agent in washing clothes.

YELLOW

Common names: FIDDLENECK
Arizona desert: (_Amsinckia intermedia_). Yellow. Spring.
California desert: (_Amsinckia tessellata_). Yellow. Spring.
Borage family. Size: Bristly erect herbs, 8 to 18 inches.

An annual of the Creosotebush belt, and very abundant on gravelly or sandy soils in dry, open places, Fiddleneck is found from western New Mexico to California and north to eastern Washington.

_A. tessellata_ occurs also in Chile and Argentina. Plants are reported to make good spring forage where they grow in heavy stands, but indications have been found that cirrhosis of the liver may result in cattle, sheep and horses that eat the nutlets.

Following moist winters, Fiddleneck is often so abundant as to form vast fields of yellow or orange-yellow blossoms, especially on the Mohave Desert in southern California.

The curling habit of the opening flower heads somewhat resembles the neck of a violin, hence the name.

YELLOW

Common names: TARBUSH, VARNISHBUSH
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Flourensia cernua_). Yellow.
July-December.
Sunflower family. Size: A small shrub 3 feet, occasionally 6 or 7 feet
high.

These resinous, much-branched, perennial shrubs are found on plains and mesas at elevations around 4,000 feet from western Texas to eastern Arizona and south into Mexico. The yellow, nodding flower heads are small, and the leaves have a hop-like odor and a bitter flavor unpalatable to cattle.

In northern Mexico the leaves and dried flower heads are sold in the drug markets under the name of _hojase_, recommended, in the form of a brew, as a remedy for indigestion.

YELLOW

Common names: MESQUITE, HONEY MESQUITE
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Prosopis juliflora_). Yellow.
April-June.
Pea family. Size: Tree 15 to 25, rarely 30 feet high.

Mesquite (mess-KEET) is one of the commonest and most widespread of desert trees, often growing in extensive thickets. It occurs at elevations below 5,000 feet, usually along streams, desert washes, or in locations where the water table is relatively high, from Kansas to California and south into Mexico. Roots are reported to penetrate to a depth of 60 feet with more wood below ground than above. In some parts of the desert, blowing sand settles around Mesquite clumps forming hummocks through which rodents tunnel.

The numerous branches are armed with sturdy, straight thorns. In the spring when covered with bright green leaves and laden with catkin-like clusters of greenish-yellow flowers, Mesquite is a particularly handsome shrub or tree. Blossoms are fragrant and attract myriads of insects, including Honeybees.

During pioneer days, Mesquite wood was of the utmost importance to settlers as fuel, and was also used extensively in building corrals and in making furniture and utensils. With the exception of Ironwood, Mesquite is the best firewood to be found in the desert, giving off a characteristic aroma and forming a long-lived bed of coals.

Fruits of the Mesquite, which resemble string beans, ripen in autumn and are eaten by domestic livestock and other animals. They are rich in sugar and still form a staple food among natives. Indians made wide use of Mesquite, the fruits often carrying them over periods when their crops failed. _Pinole_, a meal made by grinding the long, sweet pods, was served in many ways. When fermented, it formed a favorite intoxicating drink of the Pimas. The gum, which exudes through the bark, was eaten as candy, and was used as a pottery-mending cement, and as a black dye.

YELLOW

Common names: SCREWBEAN, FREMONT SCREWBEAN, SCREWPOD MESQUITE,
(_TORNILLO_)
Arizona, Texas, and California deserts: (_Prosopis pubescens_).
Yellow. May-June.
Pea family. Size: Shrub, or tree up to 20 feet.

Although the Screwbean, so called because of the tight spiral curl formed by the seed pod, is not as common as Honey Mesquite, it is nearly as widespread, being found below 4,000 feet from western Texas to southern Nevada, and southern California to northern Mexico. The majority of the trees are small and shrubby.

Fruits, in common with those of Honey Mesquite, are used by Indians and livestock for food. Bark from the roots was used by the Pima Indians to treat wounds. Where abundant, the wood is used for fence posts, tool handles, and fuel. Birds, particularly the Crissal Thrasher, make use of the shreddy bark for nest-lining material.

Where Screwbean and Honey Mesquite grow together, they may be distinguished in the winter when trees are leafless and fruits have fallen or been removed by animals, by the gray-barked twigs of the Screwbean, those of the Honey Mesquite being brownish red.

Some botanists prefer to classify Screwbean as genus _Strombocarpa_.

YELLOW

Common names: GOLDFIELDS
Arizona desert: (_Baeria chrysostoma_). Yellow. March-May.
Sunflower family. Size: Low growing, usually under 6 inches.

After winters of particularly heavy precipitation, these small close-growing annuals with their sunflower-like blossoms cover large patches of desert with a carpet of gold. Individual flowers are so small and so inconspicuous among larger plants that they are easily passed unnoticed, but millions of the plants all in blossom at the same time make a spectacular display that attracts visitors from considerable distances.

They occur in Arizona below 3,600 feet, westward to California, Lower California, and north to Oregon. A plant of winter and early springtime, Goldfields takes advantage of winter moisture and cool spring weather to produce its flowers and mature its seeds. Thus it escapes the heat and drought of the desert by lying dormant in the seed stage until the moisture and cool temperatures of the following winter awaken it.

In common with Goldpoppy and other annuals that mature their seeds before the summer heat descends upon the desert, Goldfields cannot correctly be called a “desert plant.” Actually these are plants of cooler climes which have found winter conditions in the desert ideal for their needs and have established themselves.

These plants demonstrate effectively one method, that of escaping the heat and drought, by which plants have adapted themselves to survival in the desert. Like the winter tourist, they take advantage of ideal climatic conditions of winter and spring. Since, unlike the winter tourist, they cannot return north for the summer, they take the next best course and pass through the hot, dry period in the dormancy of the seed phase of their life cycles.

YELLOW

Common name: SUNRAY
Arizona desert: (_Enceliopsis argophylla_). Bright yellow. April-June.
California desert: (_Enceliopsis covillei_). Lemon-yellow. April-June.
Sunflower family. Size: Perennial, 1 to 2½ feet tall.

The large, solitary, coarse flower heads with their yellow petals make the Sunrays among the most impressive composites of the desert.

Flowers rise on stout stems above a luxuriant growth of leaves that make the plants appear almost egotistical in their elegant arrogance.

They are at their best in sandy washes and on dry slopes at elevations between 1,000 and 3,500 feet, often where other plants seem too hard pressed eking out an existence to produce the garish foliage and bloom achieved by the Sunray.

YELLOW

Common names: DESERT-SUNSHINE, DESERT-SUNFLOWER, DESERT GOLD,
HAIRY-HEADED SUNFLOWER
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Geraea canescens_). Yellow.
January-June.
Sunflower family. Size: An annual, 6 inches to 2 feet tall.

One of the showiest of the Sunflowers. Desert-sunflowers often form sweet-scented gardens of luxuriant bloom along roadsides and in sandy basins early in the spring.

Its seeds form a dependable source of food for small rodents, especially Pocket Mice, which store them in quantities. Wild bees and Hummingbird Moths are attracted to the fragrant flowers.

This species is common in areas of sandy soil below 1,500 feet in elevation from Utah and southeastern Colorado to southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. It is one of the showy roadside flowers of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

YELLOW

Common names: BRITTLEBUSH, (_INCIENSO_)
Arizona and California deserts: (_Encelia farinosa_). Yellow.
November-May.
Sunflower family. Size: Perennial shrubs, 2 to 3 feet high.

These low, branching shrubs with gray-green leaves are common on rocky slopes and benches where they lighten the winter landscape with their bright flower heads and create a spectacular mass of bloom during early spring. Flower stems rise several inches above the brittle leaf-covered branches, thus hiding the plant under a blanket of blossoms at the height of the blooming period.

Plants are abundant on rocky slopes below 3,000 feet from southern Nevada to Lower California and eastward through Arizona.

Stems exude a gum prized as incense by the early-day Catholic priests. Indians chewed this gum, and also heated it to smear on their bodies for the relief of pain.

YELLOW

Common names: WOOLLY-MARIGOLD, DESERT-MARIGOLD, PAPER-DAISY
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Baileya multiradiata_). Yellow.
March-October.
California desert: (_Baileya pleniradiata_). Yellow. March-November.
Sunflower family. Size: 4 inches up to 2 feet high.

This low-growing, woolly, annual herb with showy, yellow flowers on long, solitary stems is one of the commonest bloomers gracing the desert roadsides and making patches of bright color along otherwise drab and dry, sandy desert washes. It is particularly noticeable because of its luxurious crop of flowers and long period of bloom.

At first glance, Desert-marigold may be confused with Crownbeard, to which it is quite similar in color, size, and habit of growing in groups. However, the regular, circular shape of Marigold blooms and the considerable difference in leaf shape make the two readily distinguishable.

In California, Desert-marigold is cultivated for the flower trade.

Fatal poisoning of sheep on over-grazed ranges has been laid at the door of this plant, although horses crop the flower heads, apparently without harmful effect. Blossom petals become bleached and papery as the blossoms age, thus giving the plant in some localities the name Paperdaisy.

Desert-marigold, of which there are but few species, is common throughout desert areas of the Southwest from Utah and Nevada to Lower California, Sonora and Chihuahua.

YELLOW

Common names: JIMMYWEED, RAYLESS-GOLDENROD, GOLDENBUSH, GOLDENWEED
Arizona desert: (_Aplopappus lacrifolius_). Yellow. August-November.
California desert: (_Aplopappus gracilis_). Yellow. February-November.
Texas-New Mexico desert: (_Aplopappus heterophyllus_). Yellow.
June-September.
Sunflower family. Size: Herbs or small shrubs 2 to 18 inches.

The genus _Aplopappus_ (sometimes spelled _Haplopappus_) is represented in the Southwest by a great many species, both annuals and perennials, which range from elevations of 2,000 feet up to 9,000 feet. Desert forms prefer open, dry canyon slopes and mesas.

_A. linearifolius_ is conspicuous in the springtime, at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 feet because of its many, showy flower heads.

_A. heterophyllus_ often takes over heavily grazed rangeland since it is generally unpalatable to livestock and replaces vegetation destroyed by overgrazing.

YELLOW

Common name: PAPERFLOWER
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Psilostrophe cooperi_). Bright yellow.
Year around.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Psilostrophe sparsiflora_). Bright yellow.
May-September.
Sunflower family. Size: Rounded bush 12 to 18 inches high.

One man of the writer’s acquaintance, confused by the great number of yellow flowers on the desert, refers to them all as “yellow composites.” The Paperflower is one of these.

It is noticeable because of the conspicuous, bright yellow flowers which sometimes cover the plants almost completely, often during periods of the year when bloom is quite scarce on the desert.

The flowers are persistent, petals become papery, fade to a pale yellow, and remain on the plants intact for weeks.

Although the Paperflower does not form great masses of color, the blossom-covered clumps are conspicuous among the Cactus, Mesquite, and Creosotebush of the desert.

It is common at elevations below 5,000 feet from southern Utah to Lower California, with similar species ranging eastward through southern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua.

Some species are reported to be poisonous to sheep.

YELLOW

Common names: DESERT-SENNA, RATTLEWEED
Arizona desert: (_Cassia bauhinoides_). Yellow. May-August.
California desert: (_Cassia armata_). Yellow. April-May.
Texas desert: (_Cassia lindheimeriana_). Golden. June-September.
Pea family. Size: Low, branching shrub up to 3 feet.

Members of this large genus are chiefly tropical, the majority having golden to bronze flowers and brown, woody seed pods. They are quite common along desert roadsides, and a few species are cultivated as ornamentals.

In some localities, following moist winters, Desert-senna bursts into a riot of color in April and May adding a golden glory to the spring floral display.

Representatives of the several desert species occur at elevations between 2,000 and 5,000 feet from Texas westward to southern California and south into Mexico.

YELLOW

Common names: BIRD-OF-PARADISE-FLOWER
Arizona desert: (_Caesalpinia gilliesi_). Yellow-and-red. May-August.
Pea family. Size: Shrub, up to 10 feet tall.

Widely grown as a decorative shrub by the people of Mexico, this spectacular import from South America is quite commonly used as an ornamental in yards and around houses in desert areas of the Southwest. Under suitable conditions, it may escape and grow wild. The very showy blossoms with yellow petals and long, thread-like, red filaments are certain to attract attention.

In contrast to the striking showiness of the blossoms, the plant itself is straggling and unsymmetrical, and gives off an unpleasant odor.

YELLOW

Common names: PRICKLYPEAR, (_TUNA_), BEAVERTAIL
Arizona desert: (_Opuntia engelmanni_). Yellow. April-June.
California desert: (_Opuntia basilaris_). Magenta. March-April.
Texas desert: (_Opuntia engelmanni_). Yellow. May-July.
Cactus family. Size: Clumps, sometimes 5 feet high and 10 feet in
diameter.

The flattened pods, or stem joints, of the Pricklypears growing, as they do, in huge clumps make them the best known of the Cacti throughout the West. There are many species found throughout the United States, but the plants reach their greatest size and luxuriant growth in the desert areas of the Southwest. The large, red to purple and mahogany, juicy, pear-shaped fruits are known as _tunas_, and are eaten by many animals as well as by the native peoples. Flowers are large and spectacular.

Although a number of species of Pricklypears are found in all of the desert areas, _O. engelmanni_ with its bright yellow flowers is the commonest form in both the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, while the Beavertail cactus with its magenta flowers and lack of large spines is the common and spectacular form of the Mohave Desert.

Pricklypears are increasing in parts of the desert where conditions are favorable, especially where heavy grazing has given them an advantage over plants that are favorable to livestock.

YELLOW

Common names: BARREL CACTUS, COMPASS CACTUS, DEVILSHEAD CACTUS,
(_BISNAGA_), (_BISNAGRE_)
Arizona desert: (_Ferocactus wislizeni_). Orange-yellow.
July-September.
California desert: (_Ferocactus acanthodes_). Yellow. March-May.
Texas desert: (_Echinocactus horizonthalonius_). Rose-pink. May-June.
Cactus family. Size: 2 to 8 feet high.

Well known among the desert figures are the heavy-bodied Barrel Cacti which are sometimes pointed out as sources of water for travelers suffering from thirst. Under extreme conditions, it is possible to hack off the tops of these tough, spine-protected plants and obtain, by squeezing the macerated tissues, enough juice to sustain life.

Growing faster on the shaded side, the taller-growing plants tend to lean toward the south, hence the name “Compass” cactus. Flowers range in color from yellow to orange and rose-pink, depending on the species, and the pale yellow, egg-shaped fruits which ripen early in the winter, are a favorite food of deer and rodents. Flowers, and the resulting fruits, form a ring around the crown of the plant.

The flesh of the Barrel cactus, cooked in sugar, forms the base of cactus candy.

YELLOW

Common names: AGAVE, CENTURYPLANT, (_MESCAL_), (_LECHUGUILLA_)
Arizona desert: (_Agave palmeri_). Yellow-purple. July-Aug.
California desert: (_Agave deserti_). Yellow. May.
Texas-New Mexico desert: (_Agave lechuguilla_). Lavender-brown.
April-May.
Amaryllis family. Size: Flower stalks 8 to 25 feet tall.

Many species of Agave are found in various parts of the desert, hence it is difficult to settle on those which should be given particular recognition. Their blossoms, in general, are various shades of yellow. The larger species are called Centuryplant or Mescal (mess-KAHL), while the small ones are spoken of as Lechuguillas (letch-you-GHEE-ahs). The Lechuguilla, covering hundreds of square miles in Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, is an indicator of the Chihuahuan Desert, holding the position in that desert which the Saguaro does in the Sonoran desert and the Joashua-tree in the Mohave Desert.

From its leaf fibers the Mexicans weave a coarse fabric. Its plumelike flower stalks, relished by deer and cattle, form one of the spectacular sights of the Chihuahuan Desert in springtime.

YELLOW

Agave plants require a number of years to store sufficient plant foods for the production of the huge flower stalk which grows with amazing rapidity to produce the many flowers and seeds, after which the plant dies. This long pre-blossom period of a dozen to 15 or more years is the basis for the name “Centuryplant.” If the young flower stalk is cut off, the sweet sap may be collected and fermented to form highly intoxicating beverages, some of which are distilled commercially. Among these are mescal, pulque (POOL-kay), and tequila (tay-KEEL-ah). Indians cut the young bud stalks, and roast them in rock-lined pits.

Common names: MARIPOSA, DESERT-MARIPOSA
Arizona and California deserts: (_Calochortus kennedyi_). Orange.
March-May.
Lily family. Size: Perennial, about 2 feet tall.

Under favorable weather conditions, this short-stemmed Mariposa presents a gorgeous display of spring color. Closely related to the white-flowered Twisted-stem Mariposa (_C. flexuosus_) and to the Sego-lily (state flower of Utah), the Desert-mariposa is found below 5,000 feet in Nevada, southern California, southern Arizona, and northern Sonora. When growing beneath taller shrubs, it forsakes its short-stemmed habit and forces its way up through the low branches, displaying its blossom above.

The Mariposas, of which there are several species, are among the most beautiful wildflowers of the Southwest.

ORANGE

Common names: GOLDPOPPY, DESERTPOPPY, (_COPRA-DE-ORO_), MEXICAN POPPY
Arizona desert: (_Eschscholtzia mexicana_). Orange. February-May.
California desert: (_Eschscholtzia glyptosperma_). Bright yellow.
March-May.
Poppy family. Size: 3 inches to a foot high, with many flower stems.

Because of their abundance and dense growth, following winters of heavy precipitation, these annual poppies often cover portions of the desert with “a cloth of gold.” They are closely related to the well-known California Poppy, state flower of California, and a common border or bedding plant in home flower gardens. In the desert, Goldpoppies are sometimes mixed with Owlclover, Lupines, and other spring flowers forming a multi-colored carpet that attracts visitors from great distances. (See cover.)

ORANGE

Common names: DEVILSCLAW, UNICORNPLANT, ELEPHANT-TUSKS
Arizona desert: (_Martynia parviflora_). Orange-purple. April-October.
California desert: (_Martynia altheaefolia_). Coppery yellow.
July-September.
Texas desert: (_Martynia arenaria_). Coppery yellow. July-September.
Martynia family. Size: Trailing, with stems 2 to 5 feet long.

The showy flowers, which are large enough to attract attention, are relatively few. Even more spectacular are the large, black, woody pods ending in two curved, prong-like appendages that hook about the fetlocks of burros or the fleece of sheep, thereby carrying the pod away from the mother plant and scattering the seeds. Young pods are sometimes eaten by desert Indians as a vegetable, and the mature fruits are gathered by the Pima and Papago Indians, who strip off the black outer covering and use it in weaving designs into basketry.

Blossoms of the small-flowered species are reddish purple to white streaked with orange and yellow, while the large-flowered species have coppery yellow blossoms, the throat spotted with purple and the edge of the cup streaked with orange.

COPPERY

Common names: BURROBUSH, CHEESEWEED
Arizona and California deserts: (_Hymenoclea salsola_). Silvery red.
March-April.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Hymenoclea monogyra_). Silvery red.
September.
Sunflower family. Size: Much-branched shrub, 2 to 3 feet tall.

Burrobush is another of the common desert shrubs whose fruits are much more conspicuous than the blossoms. The shrub itself is bright green in color, and somewhat resembles the common Russian-thistle. It is widespread, and abundant in sandy washes, where it tends to form thickets.

In some localities it is called “Cheeseweed” because of the cheesy odor of the crushed foliage.

It occurs throughout the Southwest at elevations below 4,000 feet, from western Texas to southern California and northern Mexico.

RED

Common names: OCOTILLO, SLIMWOOD, COACHWHIP, CANDLEWOOD, FLAMINGSWORD
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Fouquieria splendens_).
Bright red. April-May.
Ocotillo family. Size: Up to 15 feet tall.

One of the few flower families restricted to the desert, the unique Ocotillo (oh-koh-TEE-oh) with its long, unbranching stems is found on rocky hillsides below 5,000 feet from western Texas to southern California and south into Mexico. It is one of the commonest, queerest, and most spectacular of desert plants, especially when the tips of its long, slender stems seem afire with dense clusters of bright red blossoms. Following rains, leaves clothe the thorny stems with green, but after the soil becomes dry, the leaves turn brown and fall. The heavily thorned stems are covered with green bark which takes over the functions of leaves during periods of drought. The plant thus becomes semi-dormant during hot dry periods and, in sections of the desert visited by showers, may go through this cycle several times during a year.

Because of its sharp thorns, strangers to the desert may think that the Ocotillo is one of the Cacti, but it is more closely related to both the Violet and the Tamarix than to the Cacti.

Stems of the Ocotillo are used by natives in building huts. They are sometimes cut and, when planted close together in rows, take root and form living fences and corrals.

RED

Common names: WINDMILLS, PINK THREE-FLOWER, TRAILING-FOUR-O’CLOCK
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Allionia incarnata_). Purple pink.
April-October.
California desert: (_Allionia albida_). Rose pink. July-October.
Four-o’clock family. Size: Spreading annual with branches 30 inches.

Slender, trailing stems up to 30 inches in length with clusters of three rose-purple to pink blossoms serve to identify the Trailing-four-o’clock which is a conspicuous plant of the open plains and mesas. The plants prefer dry, sandy benches where they are quite conspicuous with their prostrate, somewhat sticky stems weighted with clinging grains of sand. Blossoms are usually showy and colorful, rarely pale rose to white.

Fruits of _A. incarnata_ are conspicuously toothed.

PINK

Common names: GLOBEMALLOW, APRICOT-MALLOW, SORE-EYE POPPY,
DESERTMALLOW
Arizona and California deserts: (_Sphaeralcea ambigua_). Peach-pink.
February-May.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Sphaeralcea angustifolia_). Pink.
May-October.
Mallow family. Size: 1 to 5 feet tall, often clustered.

Common throughout all of the Southwest, the Mallows range in size from small herbs 5 or 6 inches high to coarse, straggling, woody-stemmed plants with stems 4 or 5 feet long. Their flowers range in color from white and pale yellow to lavender, apricot, and red. Some species, including _Ambigua_, grow in large clumps with as many as 100 stems from a single root. The smaller species often cover the desert floor in early spring with a dense growth of flowers giving an apricot tinge to the landscape. Several species flower in spring and again after the summer rains.

A local belief that hairs of the plant are irritating to the eyes has given the name “Sore-eye Poppies,” an appellation carried out in the Mexican name _Mal-de-ojos_. In Lower California, Mallows are called _Plantas Muy Malas_, meaning very bad plants. In contrast, the Pima Indian name is translated to mean “a cure for sore eyes.”

PINK

Common names: FAIRYDUSTER, FALSE-MESQUITE, (_MESQUITILLA_),
HAIRY-LEAVED CALLIANDRA
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Calliandra eriophylla_).
Pink. February-May.
Pea family. Size: From a few inches up to 3½ feet tall.

This straggling, perennial shrub with fine, Mimosa-type leaves is common over much of the desert, lining banks of arroyos or dotting open hillsides. It is particularly conspicuous when in flower because of the spectacular tassel-like blossoms which are white and scarlet, or generally pink in appearance. The small leaves are nutritious and are highly palatable to deer and to livestock. The petite Fairyduster adds much to the color and springtime atmosphere of the desert. It is particularly noticeable along the base of the Tanque Verde hills in Saguaro National Monument.

PINK

Common names: SKELETONWEED, DESERT BUCKWHEAT
Arizona desert: (_Eriogonum densum_). Pink. May-October.
California desert: (_Eriogonum deflexum_). Pink-white. All year.
Texas desert: (_Eriogonum polycladon_). Pink. June-November.
Buckwheat family. Size: 6 inches to 30 inches high.

_Eriogonum_ is a very large genus, many species of which are common, and contains both annuals and biennials. Although the flowers are small, they are usually numerous and conspicuous. _E. densum_ is often very abundant in semi-desert areas, particularly along roadsides, where it is especially noticeable because it monopolizes the pavement edges for miles. It is extremely resistant to drought and flourishes when many other herbaceous plants have dried out completely. Although it bears flowers at almost any time throughout the year, during the autumn months the branches are loaded with myriads of pendant, pearly flowers the size of rice kernels. In winter, the stalks turn maroon in color and are quite conspicuous.

_E. polycladon_ is often so common along roadsides and desert washes as to color the landscape with its greyish stems and pink flowers.

_E. inflatum_ always attracts attention because of its swollen stems which resemble tall, slender bottles.

PINK

Common names: SALTCEDAR, TAMARISK
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Tamarix pentandra_). Pink to
white. March-August.
Tamarix family. Size: Shrubs to trees up to 15-20 feet high.

Purists could object to inclusion of the Saltcedar in this booklet because it is not native. However, due to a number of importations (eight species being introduced by the Department of Agriculture between 1899 and 1915) and to its ability to spread rapidly under suitable conditions, Saltcedar is now widespread throughout the Southwest.

It grows as a graceful shrub or small tree with drooping branches covered with small, scale-like leaves and is abundant in moist locations below 5,000 feet. It prefers a hot climate, low humidity, and saline soils. In river bottoms, it often forms dense thickets which require immense quantities of water, hence rob the few desert streams of a high percentage of their moisture.

Honeybees obtain nectar from the blossoms, which are particularly noticeable in the spring and early summer, as they completely cover the branches which appear as light pink, drooping plumes. The thickets are valuable as wind breaks and in erosion control, and once established, are very difficult to control and because of the deep shade cast by their dense growth and the heavy feeding of the shallow roots, they prevent cropping.

The name Tamarisk is often confused with the name of the Larch or Tamarack tree. There is little similarity except in the name.

The larger _Tamarix aphylla_ is similar in appearance but much larger and suitable for cultivation as a shade and decorative tree. It is subject to winterkill, but does not have the bad habit of spreading, characteristic of _T. pentandra_.

PINK

Common name: DESERT-PHLOX
Arizona desert: (_Phlox tenuifolia_). White-lavender. Spring.
California desert: (_Phlox stansburyi_). Pinkish-red. May-July.
Texas desert: (_Phlox mesoleuca_). Pink-white. June-August.
Phlox family. Size: Low-growing perennials, in clumps; or shrubby
plants in tufts up to 3 feet tall.

Representatives of the Phlox genus are found from the hot desert lowlands to the mountain tops well above the timberline. Certain species are limited in their range to the desert areas of the Southwest, and it is in these that we are interested here. The plants sometimes present a mass of heavy bloom twice yearly: heaviest in the spring, and again following the summer rains. Several of the native species have been brought under cultivation, particularly _P. tenuifolia_, in desert gardens, as it grows naturally in a brushy habitat similar to that formed by the shrubs planted around a house. Other forms grow as low, creeping mats forming fragrant, colorful floral carpets.

LAVENDER

Common names: DESERTWILLOW, DESERT-CATALPA
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Chilopsis linearis_).
Pink-lavender. April-August.
Bignonia family. Size: Shrubby tree, 6 to 15 feet high.

Although a close relative of the Catalpa, the willow-like foliage of this small tree has given it the name Desertwillow. A small and inconspicuous part of the desert vegetation when not in flower, unnoticed among the heavier growth of trees and shrubs that crowd the banks of desert washes, the tree’s beautiful orchid-like flowers of white to lavender mottled with dots and splotches of brown and purple bring exclamations of delight from persons viewing them for the first time. Because of the beauty of the tree when in bloom, it is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental.

Leaves are rarely browsed by livestock, and the durable, black-barked wood is used for fenceposts. In Mexico, a tea made by steeping the dried flowers is considered to be of medicinal value. By early autumn, the violet-scented flowers which appear after summer rains are replaced by the long, slender seed pods which remain dangling from the branches and serve to identify the tree long after the flowers are gone.

Although Desertwillows are never found in pure stands, growing singly and rather infrequently among other trees and shrubs lining desert washes, the species is quite common below 4,000 feet across the entire desert from western Texas to southern Nevada, southern California and southward into Mexico.

LAVENDER

Common names: ORGANPIPE CACTUS, SINITA; (_PITAHAYA DULCE_)
Arizona desert: (_Lemaireocereus thurberi_). Pink lavender. May-June.
Arizona desert: (_Lophocereus schotti_). Pink. April-August.
Cactus family. Size: In clumps, stems up to 15 feet.

Two somewhat similar, columnar cacti occur in the United States only in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and in its immediate vicinity. Both are fairly common in northwestern Mexico.

These two spectacular desert giants with their clumps of erect branches are sufficiently similar to be readily confused at first glance. However, the stems of the Organpipe (_L. thurberi_) are longer and contain more but much smaller ridges than do the stems of the Sinita or “Whisker cactus.” The name “Sinita” (meaning old age) refers to the long, gray, hair-like spines covering the upper ends of the Sinita stems.

Both species are night-blooming, the flowers, which appear along the sides and at the tips of the stems, closing soon after sunrise the following morning. Fruits of the Organpipe are harvested by the Papago Indians.

Although these two species of cactus are restricted to a very limited area, they are sufficiently spectacular and interesting to be considered worthy of inclusion in this booklet. It was to protect these species, threatened with extinction in the United States, and other rare and interesting forms of desert plants and animals, that Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was established.

LAVENDER

Common names: PINCUSHION CACTUS, FISHHOOK CACTUS, CORKSEED CACTUS,
NIPPLE CACTUS, BUTTON CACTUS
Arizona desert: (_Mammillaria microcarpa_). Lavender. June-July.
California desert: (_Mammillaria tetrancistra_). Lavender. June-July.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Mammillaria micromeris_). Lavender. Early
summer.
Cactus family. Size: Cucumber-shaped and 3 to 10 inches high.

Unlike blossoms of many of the Cacti, flowers of the little _Mammallarias_ often last for several days. Blossoms are pink or lavender, occasionally yellow, while the fruits are finger- or club-shaped and red. Being small and forming low clumps, or with single pincushion-like stems, they often escape attention except when glorified with bright, comparatively large flowers, which often form a crown around the top of the plant. The long spines are curved at the tips giving the plant the appearance of being covered with unbarbed fishhooks.

The Pincushion cacti, of which there are a number of species throughout the Southwest, occur in dry, sandy hills from southern Utah to western Texas and in southern California and northern Mexico. The red fruits are bare, without scales, spines, or hairs.

LAVENDER

Common names: GILIA, STARFLOWER
Arizona desert: (_Gilia filifolia_). Lavender. April-May.
California desert: (_Gilia latifolia_). Pink-lavender. March-April.
Texas desert: (_Gilia longiflora_). Blue-lavender. April-October.
Phlox family. Size: 6 to 24 inches high.

Although the Gilias are not generally well known, they are common, quite widely distributed throughout the Southwest, and their beauty deserves wider recognition. There are a great many species (of which early flowering _G. inconspicua_ is perhaps the commonest) at higher elevations as well as throughout the desert. Many of these are worthy of cultivation as ornamentals. Desert species, in general, are pale blue, white, or lavender while those of the higher elevations are pink, coral, or yellow to scarlet; although this is by no means a hard-and-fast rule.

Following winters of above-normal precipitation, desert species sometimes produce such heavy stands that the flowers cover large areas with a delicate pale blue or lavender carpet. Some species are attractive to Hummingbirds.

LAVENDER

Common names: PHACELIA, SCORPIONWEED, WILD-HELIOTROPE
Arizona desert: (_Phacelia crenulata_). Violet-purple. February-June.
California desert: (_Phacelia distans_). Blue-violet. March-May.
Texas desert: (_Phacelia coerulea_). Violet-purple. March-April.
Waterleaf family. Size: 4 to 16 inches tall.

Although strongly scented, it is not accurate to refer to these annuals as fragrant, for they are sometimes unpleasant in odor, and occasionally actually foul-smelling. Some are described as having an onion-like odor.

_P. crenulata_ with its rich, violet-purple flowers is conspicuous across southern New Mexico, Arizona and California to Lower California. This species is often called Wild-heliotrope.

The name Scorpionweed comes from the curling habit of the blossoming flower heads which somewhat resemble the flexed tail of a scorpion in striking position.

Common names: SQUAW-THORN, RABBIT-THORN, DESERT-THORN, WOLFBERRY,
SQUAWBERRY, (_TOMATILLO_)
Arizona desert: (_Lycium pallidum_). Green-lavender. April-June.
California desert: (_Lycium andersoni_). Lavender. February-April.
Texas desert: (_Lycium berlanderi_). Lavender-cream. March-September.
Potato family. Size: Thorny shrubs, stiff and brushy, up to 6 feet.

Noticeable in winter because of their off-season greenery and early flowers which cover the bushes and attract many insects, and attractive in late spring and summer due to the numerous tomato-colored berries hanging from their stiff, thorny stems, the Squaw-thorns are widely distributed throughout the desert.

These plants have contributed much to the subsistence of the Indians, their insipid, slightly bitter, juicy berries being eaten raw or prepared as a sauce. These berries are eagerly sought by birds, which also use the stiff shrubs for cover and for protective roosts at night.

Early spring is the normal blooming season, but some flower again following summer or early fall rains.

VIOLET

Common names: CENIZA, SENISA, ASHPLANT, WILD-LILAC
Texas desert: (_Leucophyllum frutescens_). Lilac-violet.
August-October. (Leucophyllum texanum). Violet-purple.
August-October.
Figwort family. Size: Bushy shrub, 3 to 4 feet high.

In southern Texas, thick patches of this shrub are sometimes found, although they commonly occur singly or a few together, usually on limestone soils. Since the leaves are a light gray-green, plants appear to be ashy in color, giving rise to the name “Ceniza,” meaning “ashy.” Spectacular in Big Bend National Park.

So sensitive is this plant to moisture, that it may burst into blossom within a few hours after a soaking rain, this phenomenon giving rise to the local belief that the plant actually blossoms before the rain, thereby forecasting precipitation; hence the name “Barometerbush.” During recent years, Ceniza has become one of the popular native shrubs used in landscaping.

Under normal conditions, plants blossom in September.

VIOLET

Common names: FILEREE OR FILAREE, HERONBILL, (_ALFILERIA_)
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Erodium texanum_). Pink-violet.
February-March.
California desert. (_Erodium cicutarium_). Rose-violet.
February-March.
Geranium family. Size: 3 to 12 inches high.

Believed to have been introduced from the Mediterranean countries at an early date by the Spaniards, _Alfileria_ is now widespread and extensively naturalized throughout the Southwest. In the desert, it is one of the common winter annuals and furnishes excellent spring forage especially following moist winters. The plants remain green for only a few weeks, but are good forage even after the stems have dried.

Although the blossoms are not large nor sufficiently numerous to make a colorful display, they are attractive and welcome, as they are among the first spring flowers to put in an appearance. “Tails” of the fruits are long and slender, somewhat resembling a Heron’s bill, and upon maturity twist into a tight spiral when dry. Upon becoming moist, they uncoil, driving the sharp-tipped seeds into the soil. Seeds are gathered and stored by Ants which discard the husks and coiled “tails” outside their nests, thus building up a circular band of chaff around the Ant-hill.

VIOLET

Common names: IRONWOOD, DESERT-IRONWOOD, TESOTA, (_PALO-DE-HIERRO_)
Arizona and California deserts: (_Olneya tesota_). Violet-purple.
May-June.
Pea family. Size: Wide-crowned tree up to 35 feet.

Ironwood is one of the desert’s most beautiful trees, being particularly colorful when the new, dark-green leaves and violet, wisteria-like flowers give it a lavender glow in late May or early June. Since the tree survives only in warm locations, it has for years served as a guide to citrus growers in selecting sites for orange, lemon, or grapefruit plantings.

Foliage of the Ironwood is dense and evergreen, and the wood is very heavy and so hard that it cannot be worked with ordinary tools. When thoroughly dry, it makes high-quality firewood, and as a result it has been cut and removed over much of the desert, hence mature trees are becoming relatively scarce. Indians used the wood for arrow points and as tool handles.

Ironwood trees grow along desert washes, often in company with Mesquite and Paloverde. Blossoms are much more numerous in some years than in others. Although the trees, when in bloom, make a spectacular showing, they are very difficult to capture on color film, and photographs that do them justice are rare. Seeds, which mature late in the summer, are roasted and eaten by desert Indians who prize them for their peanut-like flavor. They are eaten also by various desert animals.

In Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and in some other parts of the desert, Ironwood trees have become heavily infested with Mistletoe which stunts or kills the branches and produces grotesque, tumor-like swellings.

VIOLET

Common names: ASTER, DESERT ASTER, MOHAVE-ASTER, TANSY ASTER
Arizona desert: (_Aster tephrodes_). Amethyst blue. April-October.
California desert: (_Aster abatus_). Violet to lavender. March-May.
Texas desert: (_Aster tanacetifolius_). Bright violet. June-October.
Sunflower family. Size: Few inches to 2½ feet tall.

Since the Aster is one of the most widespread and best-known of the flowers, it is usually easily recognized. There are many species, principally perennials, ranging from low-growing, single-stemmed plants, sprawling, many-stemmed plants with large flowers, to tall bushes. Desert species are found on dry, rocky hillsides and along roadsides and on waste ground.

The Aster is by no means restricted to the desert. Over much of the United States they are considered as fall bloomers, but many species blossom in the spring while others are at their floral best in midsummer.

VIOLET

Common names: PENTSTEMON, BEARDTONGUE
Arizona desert: (_Pentstemon pseudospectabilis_). Rose-purple.
April-July.
California desert. (Pentstemon thurberi). Blue-purple. April-June.
Texas desert: (_Pentstemon fendleri_). Blue-purple. April-June.
Figwort family. Size: Perennial herbs from a few inches high to 3 feet
or more tall.

Widespread through the Southwest at nearly all elevations, the Penstemons are conspicuous herbs or small shrubs with showy flowers that attract attention and admiration when they are in bloom in the spring and early summer on the desert.

PURPLE

Common names: LUPINE, BLUEBONNET
Arizona desert: (_Lupinus sparsiflorus_). Violet-purple. January-May.
California desert: (_Lupinus odoratus_). Royal purple. April-May.
Texas desert: (_Lupinus havardi_). Blue-purple. March-April.
Pea family. Size: Bushy, and up to 2 or 2½ feet tall.

Lupines are among the old dependables of spring display flowers of the desert, usually mingling with other blossoming herbs to create the bright color pattern for which the desert is famous in early spring, but occasionally growing in pure stands. Ranging in color from pale pink to deep purple, the Lupines are usually considered as blue flowers.

The name “Lupine” comes from the Latin word meaning wolf and was applied to these plants because they were believed to rob the soil of its fertility. Actually, they prefer the poorer, sandy soils and, by fixing in the soil nitrogen that they, in common with other plants of the pea family, are able to obtain from the air, they actually improve the land on which they grow.

Perhaps the best known display of Lupines takes place each spring in Texas. Here the “Bluebonnet” (_L. texensis_ and _L. subcarnosus_) has been named the state flower of Texas, and the annual spring display attracts thousands of people to the areas of heavy bloom. The majority of Lupines have handsome flowers, some species are fragrant, and several species are cultivated as ornamentals. The seeds of a few species contain alkaloids which are poisonous to livestock, especially sheep.

PURPLE

Common names: BROOMRAPE, BURROWED STRANGLER, CANCER-ROOT
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Orobanche ludoviciana_).
Brownish-purple. March-July.
Broomrape family. Size: 4 to 15 inches tall.

This root parasite, although not common, is sufficiently strange and striking in appearance to arrest attention. Its purple to yellowish-brown, leafless flower stalks somewhat resembling coarse shoots of asparagus rise above the desert soil, usually in open, sandy locations.

Broomrape, of which there are several species, is found throughout the Southwest from southern Utah and Nevada to Texas, California, and Mexico.

The plant is parasitic on the roots of a number of different plants, but the desert species usually parasitize Burrobush, Bur-sage, and other composites. Flowers are small, purple with brown and white markings, and monopolize the plant stalk in the absence of foliage.

Underground parts of the plant were eaten by Southwestern Indians. The name “Cancer-root” refers to the reported efficacy of treatment in applying the stems of the plant to ulcers.

PURPLE

Common names: MILKVETCH, LOCOWEED, RATTLEWEED, WOOLLY-LOCO
Arizona and California deserts: (_Astragalus nuttalianus_).
White-purple. February-May.
Texas deserts: (_Astragalus mollissimus_). Purple. April-May.
Pea family. Size: 4 to 12 inches high.

A very large genus of plants, with 78 species recorded in Arizona alone, _Astragalus_ ranges from the driest, hottest parts of the desert to high mountain peaks and the far north. _A. nuttalianus_ is the commonest of the desert species and is found on dry plains, mesas, and slopes below 4,000 feet from Arkansas and Texas westward to California and south into Mexico.

Some of the species, of which _Mollisimus_ (Wooly-loco) is one, contain a poisonous constituent causing the well-known and often fatal loco disease of livestock, particularly horses. (Loco is a Spanish word meaning “crazy.”) Other species which prefer soils rich in selenium take up enough of that toxic mineral to make them poisonous to livestock, especially sheep.

Nearly all of the species are colorful and spectacular when in blossom, and some of them have a rank, disagreeable odor.

PURPLE

Common names: PURPLE NIGHTSHADE, GROUNDCHERRY, WILD POTATO,
(_TROMPILLO_), HORSENETTLE
Arizona and California deserts: (_Solanum xanti_). Purple.
April-August.
Texas desert: (_Solanum elaeagnifolium_). Purple-violet.
May-September.
Potato family. Size: Up to 3 feet.

Quite showy when in flower, these common roadside plants attract considerable attention during the late spring and summer. Some species become troublesome in cultivated fields and are difficult to eradicate. An alkaloid, solanin, reported as present in the leaves and unripe fruits of several species, renders them poisonous. Pima Indians add the crushed berries of _S. elaeagnofolium_ to milk in making cheese.

The yellow-flowered _S. rostratum_ is heavily covered with spines, including both stems and fruit, giving it the name of Buffalobur. This species is said to be the original host of the now widespread pest, the Colorado Potato Beetle.

PURPLE

Common names: WILD-HELIOTROPE, QUAILPLANT, CHINESE-PUSLEY
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Heliotropium curassavicum_).
Purple. March-April.
Borage family. Size: Spreading, weak stems up to 18 inches.

Widely distributed on salty and alkaline soils throughout the warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere, there are several species and varieties of Wild-heliotrope. The flowers, which are almost white, shading to a pale purple in the corolla throat, open as the spike uncoils, perfuming the desert air with their fragrance. The name “Pusley” which is applied to this plant in some localities is possibly a corruption of “Purslane.”

Pima Indians are reported to powder the dried roots of these plants, applying the dust to wounds or sores. The name “Wild-heliotrope” is also applied to another desert flower, _Phacelia crenulata_ (which see), causing no little confusion.

PURPLE

Common names: ARROWWEED, MARSH-FLEABANE
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Pluchea sericea_). Roseate
purple. Spring.
Sunflower family. Size: Perennial, 3 to 10 feet tall.

Seldom found above 3,000 feet elevation, the rank-smelling Arrowweed forms dense, willow-like thickets in stream beds and in moist, saline soils. It is common in moist locations from Texas to southern Utah and south into California and Mexico; usually in pure, dense stands.

The green foliage gives off an agreeable odor, but when the plant dries this becomes rank and unpleasant, clinging to the plant long after it has been cut. This odor is often a characteristic of native dwellings where Arrowweed has been used as a ceiling mat above the rafters.

Arrowweed is browsed by deer, and sometimes by horses and cattle. The straight stems were used by Indians in making arrowshafts, and are still important as a construction material in the walls and roofs of mud huts. The stems are used, also, by desert Indians in basketmaking, and in fabricating storage bins and animal cages. From the foliage of the stem tips, Pima Indians brewed a tea which they used as an eye wash.

The flowers are reported to furnish considerable nectar gathered by Honeybees. The blossoms are inconspicuous and develop into tawny-tufted seed-heads.

PURPLE

Common name: MONKEYFLOWER
Arizona and California deserts: (_Mimulus bigelovi_). Red-purple.
February-April.
Texas desert: (_Mimulus glabratus_). Yellow. June.
Figwort family. Size: Branching, creeping annual up to 8 inches.

Disproportionately large flowers for the size of the low-growing, small-leafed plant make it particularly conspicuous in the open, sandy locations where it blossoms in the springtime.

Although the Monkeyflower is usually thought of as moisture-loving, there are a number of desert species. The flowers are quite easy to recognize, as they closely resemble the Monkeyflowers which grow in the moist places surrounding seeps and springs, and they also are somewhat similar in appearance to their close relatives the Snapdragons and Pentstemons.

The desert species are well worthy of consideration for cultivation as garden ornamentals.

PURPLE

Common names: PURPLEMAT, PURPLE ROLL-LEAF
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Nama demissum_). Red-purple.
March-May.
Waterleaf family. Size: Tiny plant, an inch or so high.

Although the plants are very small, they grow close together and the blossoms are often quite large in comparison. The reddish-purple color of the flowers stands out in sharp contrast to the green of spring vegetation so that a widespread growth of the plants forms patches or mats of colorful desert carpeting.

Masses of the plants are usually found on open flats, often among Creosotebush, and on either clay or sandy soils. In dry years, growth is restricted and a tiny plant may bear but a single flower, the blossom sometimes almost as large as the rest of the plant.

PURPLE

Common names: SPIDERLING, WEST INDIAN BOERHAAVIA
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Boerhaavia caribaea_).
Red-purple. May-September.
Four-o’clock family. Size: Trailing stems up to 4 feet in length.

A common roadside perennial, Spiderling becomes an annoying garden weed when it invades open fields and areas of cultivation. Its trailing stems and sticky foliage interfere with tillage. The flowers are small but numerous and grow in attractive, colorful clusters. This species is widely distributed, not only throughout the deserts of the Southwest, but also in tropical and subtropical America.

In addition to _B. caribaea_, other species of _Boerhaavia_ are widespread throughout areas of the Southwest below 5,500 feet elevations. The plants usually grow where they are exposed to full sunlight, although sometimes found in open brushlands, and reach full flower in late summer and autumn months.

PURPLE

Common names: OWLCLOVER, (_ESCOBITA_)
Arizona and California deserts: (_Orthocarpus purpurascens_).
Red-purple. March-May.
Figwort family. Size: 4 to 8 inches high.

This short, leafy annual ranging in color from rich velvet red to purple is noticeable even as an individual plant, but, following winters of above average rainfall, it often grows en masse, covering portions of the desert floor with a carpet of bright purple; sometimes in pure stands, often mixed with Goldpoppy, Lupine, and other spring flowers.

Since _Escobita_ is limited in range to southern and western Arizona, California, and Lower California at elevations below 3,000 feet, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is well within its range, and in that area can be seen at its spectacular best.

The California variety has the lower lip of the blossom tipped with rich yellow.

PURPLE

Common names: CHOLLA, CANE CACTUS, WALKINGSTICK CHOLLA, BUCKHORN
CHOLLA
Arizona desert: (_Opuntia spinosior_). Red-purple. May-June.
California desert: (_Opuntia acanthocarpa_). Yellow-purple. April-May.
Texas desert: (_Opuntia imbricata_). Red-purple. May-June.
Cactus family. Size: Shrubby, from 3 to 8 feet high.

Aside from the true Tree Cholla (_Opuntia fulgida_), which is the largest of the branching, cylindrical-jointed cacti and is very common in restricted portions of the desert in the Tucson-Phoenix area, the species listed above are the largest, most representative, and most widely spread of the Chollas (CHOH-yahs).

The bright red to purple flowers of _O. spinosior_ and _O. imbricata_ make them particularly attractive during the blossoming season, while the extreme variability, from yellow to red and purple, of the flowers of _O. acanthocarpa_ make its identification by this means always a matter of uncertainty. Fruits of _spinosior_ and _imbricata_ are quite large, yellow, and at a distance may be mistaken for blossoms.

Flowers of _O. fulgida_ are small, pink, and appear in midsummer followed by fruits which remain on the plant to form long hanging clusters relished by cattle. A hybrid between _spinosior_ and _fulgida_ is reported along the Gila River west of Florence, Arizona.

PURPLE

Common names: THISTLE, WAVY THISTLE
Arizona desert: (_Cirsium neomexicanum_). Pink-purple.
March-September.
California desert: (_Cirsium mohavense_). Pink-white. Summer.
Texas desert: (_Cirsium undulatum_). Red-purple. October.
Sunflower family. Size: 2 to 4 feet tall, sometimes taller.

Sometimes called Bullthistles, these biennials or perennials with spiny stems, prickly leaves, and heavy flower heads ranging in color from white to purple need no introduction to most people.

The Mohave Thistle is the commonest form found in southern California, being abundant, sometimes in dense stands, in open gravelly valleys, on rocky slopes, or about alkaline seeps in the Mohave Desert. Range of the New Mexico Thistle extends westward to the eastern borders of the Mohave Desert. _Cirsium californica_, with white blossoms, occurs in Death Valley National Monument at elevations between 4,000 and 5,000 feet.

Navajo and Hopi Indians are reported to use the Thistle plant for medicinal purposes.

PURPLE

Common name: SANDVERBENA
Arizona and California deserts: (_Abronia villosa_). Pink-purple.
March-April.
Texas desert: (_Abronia angustifolia_). Pink-purple. March-July.
Four-o’clock family. Size: Trailing annual, stems sometimes 2 feet in
length.

Sandverbenas are attractive, low-growing herbs with pink-purple to lavender, fragrant flowers forming clusters or heads which cover the plants. Desert species are conspicuous in the springtime when they line roadsides and carpet open, sandy locations, such as dry streambeds, with a mass of purple. Although they are often found in solid patches, they frequently intermingle with other spring flowers such as the Bladderpod producing a gay pattern of color.

Other species are found at higher elevations and are common during the summer months.

Some of the desert species blossom a second time in September.

PURPLE