Part 4

It is sometimes facetiously called “cowboys’ fried egg.”

Flowers are normally white with large, tissue-paper petals and yellow centers. In southern Arizona an occasional plant with pale yellow petals is found; and in Big Bend National Park, Texas, a form with rose-colored petals and a deep red center is occasionally encountered.

Plants are drought-resistant, unpalatable to livestock, and may be found in blossom during any month in the year, although much more prolific during the spring and summer. When abundant on cattle range, they are an indication of over-grazing. Seeds are reported to contain a narcotic more potent than opium.

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Common Names: DESERTLILY, (AJO) Arizona and California deserts. (Hesperocallis undulata). White. March-April. Lily family. Size: Narrow-leafed perennial, 6 inches to 2 feet.

One of the showiest and most famous of the desert wildflowers, although limited in distribution to sandy areas below 2,000 feet elevation, the Desertlily greatly resembles the Easterlily of greenhouse habitat.

In some seasons, the blossoms are abundant and their delicate fragrance perfumes the surrounding atmosphere. During “off” seasons, visitors may scour the desert to find only a very few of the fragile blossoms.

Named “Ajo” by Spanish explorers because of the large, edible bulb resembling garlic, the Lily has passed on its name to a mountain range, a broad valley, and a thriving town in southwestern Arizona where it grows in profusion. Its range is limited to southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and probably northern Sonora.

Papago Indians eat the bulbs which have an onion-like flavor. Bulbs are difficult to obtain because they grow at a depth of 18 inches to two feet beneath the surface of the hard-packed desert soil. Flowers remain open during the day, and propagation is principally by seeds.

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Common Names: DESERT-DANDELION, GOATSBEARD Arizona and Texas deserts. (Rafinesquia neomexicana). Bright white. March-May. California desert. (Rafinesquia californica). Dull white. April-May. Sunflower family. Size: About a foot high.

In early springs that follow winters of more than average rainfall the Desert-Dandelion is one of the conspicuous annuals helping to carpet the deserts with a ground-cover of flowers.

Although much more delicate, longer stemmed, and less coarse and robust than the common Dandelion, the flowers sufficiently resemble those of the better-known yellow Dandelion to stimulate recognition.

Desert-Dandelion is found below 4,000 feet in desert situations from western Texas to Lower California and northward to southern Utah.

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Common name: OLEANDER Arizona, California, and Texas deserts. (Nerium oleander). White, yellow, or red. Spring and summer. Dogbane family. Size: Robust, spreading shrub up to 20 feet high.

Well known and widely grown because of its large clusters of red or white blossoms and glossy, evergreen leaves, the Oleander is one of the handsomest shrubs found under cultivation in towns and cities of the desert. Requiring sub-tropical conditions, easily rooted from cuttings, and rapid in growth, the Oleander thrives in Southwestern desert areas if supplied with plenty of water. It is used individually and as hedgerows in ornamental plantings.

Although blossoms may be present at almost any time of year, the principal flowering season extends from early spring well through the summer. Both the red-flowered and the white-flowered plants are popular and may be grown separately or intermixed. Recently a yellow-flowered form has come into use.

These handsome shrubs immediately attract the attention of northerners visiting desert towns, and arouse their curiosity as to their identity.

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Common name: THREADPLANT Arizona desert. (Nemacladus glanduliferus). Purple-white. March-May. California desert. (Nemacladus rigidus). Purple-white. March-May. Bellflower family. Size: 2 to 12 inches tall.

The tiny, slender-stemmed, profusely-branched Threadplant is so small that it is completely overlooked by the majority of visitors to the Southwest, yet it is one of the most common and most attractive of desert flowers. Under a magnifying glass, the shape and coloring of the minute, delicate flowers make them appear as beautiful as orchids. The white flowers are touched with tints of red, brown, yellow, or purple.

Plants are abundant below 1,800 feet elevation on dry, gravelly or rocky soils, frequently along the shoulders of highways from Nevada throughout western Arizona and southern California to Lower California. Be on the lookout for this small but interesting and beautiful plant.

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Common name: DODDER Arizona and Texas deserts. (Cuscuta indecora). White. July-August. California desert. (Cuscuta denticulata). Pale yellow. July-August. Convolvulus family. Size: Vine-like, covering host plant.

Rootless, leafless, and with pale yellow to brownish stems which twine in vine-like embrace about the host, the parasitic Dodders are immediately noticeable because of their strange appearance.

Frequently the automobile traveler’s attention is arrested by a pale yellowish blotch in the green of the roadside vegetation. Examination shows this to be caused by the matted yellowish stems and the white to pale yellow, fleshy blossoms. These flowers are attractive and often abundant enough to make a showy display.

Dodder is found widespread throughout the United States and is often a serious parasitic pest on crops of economic importance. Desert species are usually found infesting Mesquite, Goldenrod, Aster, Burrobush, Seepwillow, and Arrowweed. Although certain Dodders show a preference in choosing hosts (C. denticulata common on Creosotebush), most of them grow readily upon various plants.