Part 19

The flowers, although rarely more than ½ inch in diameter, are bright azure or sky blue, and seem large in comparison with the small leaves and weak, spreading stems of the plant that bears them.

Although the genus Ipomoea is the true Morningglory, blossoms of Evolvus are similar in appearance, although flattened, hence are sometimes called Wild-morningglory.

BLUE

Common names: CHIA, SAGE, DESERT-SAGE Arizona desert: (Salvia carnosa). Sky-blue. Spring. California desert: (Salvia columbariae). Blue. March-April. Texas desert: (Salvia arizonica). Indigo blue. July-September. Mint family. Size: Herbs and shrubs up to 3 feet high.

The word “Sage” is derived from the idea that these plants had the power to make a person wise or sage. Please do not confuse the Desert-sage with Sagebrush (Artemisia) which does not grow in low-elevation deserts but which, due to popular writings and “western” movies, is associated in the public mind with any brushy plant found in the west.

Seeds of the Chia at one time formed a staple article of diet among southwestern Indians, and are still used by natives in Mexico for food and for making mucilaginous poultices.

The flowers of several species of Chia are very ornamental and the plants are quite common, usually in sandy soil.

BLUE

Common names: LARKSPUR, WILD-DELPHINIUM Arizona desert: (Delphinium scaposum). Royal blue. March-May. California desert: (Delphinium parishi) Sky blue. Spring. Texas desert: (Delphinium carolinianum). Blue. Spring. Crowfoot family. Size: Up to 2 feet in height.

Desert Larkspurs are low-growing, spring or early summer-flowering in habit, often occurring in colonies, and frequently intermingle with other spring flowers thereby adding their blue to the colorful tapestry of ground cover. They are readily recognized because of their resemblance to the cultivated varieties called Delphiniums, and because of the tubular extension or “spur.” D. amabile is the most drought-resistant of all southwestern species and may blossom in the desert as early as February.

Because they contain delphinine and other toxic alkaloids, Larkspurs are poisonous to livestock, particularly sheep. On the desert, the plants are small and bear few but beautiful blossoms. They prefer open, gravelly soil.

It is reported that the Hopi Indians grind Larkspur blossoms with corn to produce blue meal.

BLUE

Common names: SMOKETREE, INDIGOBUSH, PEABUSH Arizona and California deserts: (Dalea spinosa). Blue-violet. April-June. Texas deserts: (Dalea formosa). Purple. March-June. Pea family. Size: Up to 10 or 12 feet tall.

Famous, although not common, throughout the frostless areas of the desert, the Smoketree, because of its gray-green, leafless, plume-like growth resembles at a distance a gray cloud of smoke hovering over a desert campfire. When in flower, in May or June, it is one of the handsomest of desert shrubs. It is always found in the bed of a sandy wash where it obtains moisture from runoff following summer showers or winter rains.

In California, it occurs in portions of both the Mohave and the Colorado Deserts, and in Arizona is restricted to the western part of the state. It is fairly abundant near Quitobaquito in the southwestern corner of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Other species of Indigobush, of which there are many, are less famous than the Smoketree, but all have purple or indigo flowers and most of them are beautiful and noticeable when in blossom. Indians used an extract from the twigs for dyeing basket material and ate the roots of D. terminalis.

BLUE

Common names: WILD-RHUBARB, DOCK, SORREL, CANAIGRE Arizona and California deserts: (Rumex hymenosepalus). Pink-green. March-April. Texas desert: (Rumex mexicanus). Pink-green. Summer. Buckwheat family. Size: Coarse perennial up to 2 feet tall.

Sturdy, conspicuous flower and seed heads together with the large leaves of these coarse, roadside plants, although hardly to be considered as beautiful, attract considerable attention and arouse the curiosity of the observer. Some species are garden weeds introduced from Europe. In the desert, the large, coarse leaves and pinkish flower stalks make quite a showing in sandy washes and along the roadsides as early as March and April. The plant is being considered as a source of tannin (from its tubers) to replace that formerly obtained from Chestnuts.

GREEN

Common names: GOATNUT, DEERNUT, (JOJOBA), WILD-HAZEL, COFFEEBERRY Arizona and California deserts: (Simmondsia chinensis). Green-yellow. December-July. Box family. Size: Shrub, 2 to 5 feet high.

Jojoba (hoh-HOH-bah) is another of the desert plants which is noticeable, not because of its flowers, but due to its leathery, gray-green foliage which persists throughout the year. These shrubs are numerous at elevations between 1,000 and 4,300 feet in the lower levels of desert mountain ranges, particularly on the alluvial fans at the mouths of canyons.

The acorn-like nuts, which taste something like filberts, but are bitter because of their tannin content, were long an important item of food among the Indians and the early settlers. The thickly set, evergreen leaves are browsed by Deer and other animals, and the nuts are gathered by Ground Squirrels.

The nuts contain an edible oil (actually a liquid wax) which has some medicinal value and is used in small quantities in the manufacture of hair oil. Attempts to raise the nut in commercial quantities have not proved successful. On occasions the nuts have been roasted and used as a substitute for coffee.

GREEN

Common names: DESERT MILKWEED, BEDSTRAW MILKWEED, (AJAMENTE) Arizona desert: (Asclepias subulata). Green-yellow. April-October. California desert: (Asclepias erosa). Green-white. September-October. Texas desert: (Asclepias texana). Green-white. Autumn. Milkweed family. Size: Perennials, up to 5 feet.

Readily recognizable because of their milky sap and the pods filled with silky-winged seeds, the Milkweeds are generally considered as poisonous to livestock, although rarely eaten. Appreciable quantities of rubber are found in the sap of some species.