WHITE FLOWERS
======> DAISY-LOOKING FLOWERS?
Blackfoot Daisy (melampodium leucanthum) Tall bushy plant up to 20" tall; 8-petaled flower with yellow center, with center above petals. Blooms March to November.
White Prairie Aster (virgulus facatus) Perenial with white non-overlapping petal rays (>24) around center yellow disk. Numerous per branch. Blooms August - October.
======> SUNFLOWER-LOOKING FLOWERS?
Spreading Fleabane (erigeron divergens) Well-branched growing to 28" high. Narrow pink-edged non-overlapping petals around a yellow center.
======> LARGE FLOWER; PLANT GREEN & GROUND-HUGGING?
Sacred Datura (datura meteloides) Large 5-6" showy ovoid flowers. A large unexpected dark-green growing plant. All parts poisonous! Flowers open at night. Formerly used by natives to induce visions. Flowers open at night and close soon after the first rays of the sun.
======> SMALL, COMPACT AND 'BUMPY-ISH FLOWERS?
Crowned Rayweed (parthenium incanum) Plants grow up to 2' tall, with distinctive button-like flowers which grow in clusters along upper stems. Each has five tiny flowers in a pentagon shape. Bloom August to December.

======> SWEET PEA LOOKING FLOWERS?
Blue-stem Pricklepoppy (argemone pleiacantha) has 4-6 large crinkled non-overlapping petals and many bright orange stamen. Blue-green leaves clasp the stems and are heavily lobed. Seeds rumored to contain a narcotic more potent than opium.
Evening Primrose (oenothera deltoides) Low creeping plant with stem from a flat rosette of leaves. Flowers have 4 large upward crinkled petals surrounding a small yellow center. Blooms in the evening and wilts in the morning March to May.
Sego Lily (calochorus nutallii) Tall un-branched stems 18" with three large petals. Yellow center and possible lavender edges.
======> TRUMPET-SHAPED FLOWERS?
Field Bindweed (convolvulus arvensis) Introduced species; a morning glory. Approx 8 non-overlapping petals on ground-trailing stems. Leaves arrow-shaped with shallow lobes.
======> MANY ITTY-BITTY FLOWERS?
Wright's Wild Buckwheat (eriogonum wrightii) Multiple small woody stems creating a mound approx 2' high with leaves on lower half. Tiny white-pink flowers with about 6 overlapping petals bloom in July to August.

YELLOW FLOWERS
======> SUNFLOWER LOOKING FLOWER?
Blanketflower (gaillardia pinnatifada) Limited narrow long leaves around base. Tall up to 3' stems with flowers having non-overlapping petals surrounding a maroon domed center. Petals are split deeply into 3 tips. Blooms from May to September.
Camphorweed (heterotheca psammophilia) Also known as 'telegraph weed' due to stem. Grows tall, up to 5'. Flowers are 1" with both overlapping petals and center yellow. Bloom from March to November. Leaves are wavy, lobed and thick. Grows in disturbed soil. Name comes from smell of crushed leaves.
Desert Marigold (baileya multiradiata) Grey-green leaves concentrated at base with 20" non-branching stalks; one flower per stalk. Flowers have 3-tipped overlapping petals around a yellow dome. Blooms from April to October.
Goatsbeard (verbesina enceliodes) Also known as 'cowpie daisy'. Hmmm. Well branched grey-green plant up to 5' tall with coursely toothed leaves. Flower has overlapping petals around a yellow center. Petal ends are 3-tipped. Blooms from June to September.
Groundsel (multiple) Flowers have approx 9 separated petals with yellow center. Plant is multi-branched about 2-3' high with large lobed leaves having broad teeth. Limited upper leaves.
Narrowleaf Sunflower (helianthus petiolaris) Tall up to 6' and slender. Flower has overlapping petals surrounding a maroon center. Petals 3-tipped. Blooms from June to September. Leaves are not lobed and somewhat oval.
Slender Goldenbush (machaeranthera gracillii) Also known as yellow spiny daisy. Plant grows about 12" tall with leaved stems curving upwards. Flower petals are overlapping and single tipped around a yellow dome. Upper leaves are hairy, narrow and spike-tipped.
Turpentine Brush (ericameria laricifolia) Bushy plant up to 3' tall. Flowers are highly clustered (11-13) and have long non-overlapping petals single tipped around center dome or ray of stamens. Blooms from August to December. Leaves are elongated and leathery. Name comes from aroma when leaves are crushed.

======> SWEET PEA LOOKING FLOWERS?
Bladderpod (lesquerella intermedia) Flowers have 4 wide petals non-overlapping rounded backwards, and grow in tight groups. Leaves are oval shaped and long. Back when this area was rangeland, bladderpod was valuable forage for stock.
Draba (draba asprella) Flowers have 4 curly petals on a leafless stem. Plants are small, about 5" tall with green oval hairy leaves. Begins blooming in late winter.
Mexican Gold Poppy (eschscholzia mexicana) Cup-shaped flowers with 4 overlapping petals on a long 12" leafless stalk. Blooms March to May. Fern-like leaves at base of plant.
Western Wallflower (erysimum capitalum) Has stems up to 3' tall supporting multiple 4-petal flowers. Narrow leaves up to 5" long grow at base and lower part of stem. Blooms March to July.
======> ODD DRAGON-ISH FLOWERS?
Dalmatian Toadflax (linaria genistifolia) Also known as 'butter and eggs'! Grows long up to 4' stems with dragon-type flowers from late spring to summer. Flowers have a point on the downside; hug stem and have an orange throat.
======> FLOWERS IN SPIKE-LIKE CLUSTERS ALONG STEM?
Common Mullein (verbascum thapsus) Plant grows up to 6' tall with oblong thick grey felt-like leaves (very weedy looking!). Flowers have five petals tightly grouped with five orangish stamen and bloom June to September. The leaves were once used by natives inside their sandles.
======> LITTLE BUSHY PLANT; TINY FLOWERS?
Rough Mendora (mendora scabra) Plant has numerous green stems (thus bushy) up to 14" with elongate leaves next to stems. Flowers are small with 5 petals and 2 stamens. Blooms from March to September
======> TUBULAR FLOWERS?
Mexican Wooleywhite (hymenopappus mexicanus) Plant has thick lobed leaves at base with tall leafless branched stalks. Flowers are tightly clustered and tiny and tubular in a 'ray' orientation.

ORANGE AND RED FLOWERS
======> SUNFLOWER LOOKING FLOWER?
Indian Blanket (ghaillardia pulcella) Plant grows up to 2' tall with deep green leaves. Flowers have overlapping petals, reddish toward center and yellow on 3-tipped edges. Surround a maroon dome with yellow center. Blooms from May to June.
======> SWEET PEA-LIKE FLOWER?
Desert Globemallow Thick greyish leaves and a perennial. Cup-shaped flowers grow along stems that are up to 3' long. Five petals which are orangish and surround a yellow stamen. Blooms from March to June. Hairs on plant have given rise to its more informal name 'sore-eye poppies' though no clear evidence.
======> PAINTBRUSH-TYPE FLOWERS?
Indian Painbrush (castilleja chromosa) A perennial and many types. 18" stalks support tiny yellow-green flowers surrounded by bright red 'bracts' (which are the noticable part!). April to August.
Paintbrush (castilleja integra) Bright red flowers with irregular cupped and overlapping petals. Hairy stems. Leaves are thin with a prominent rib.

======> TINY CLUSTERED FLOWERS?
Wild Buckwheat (eriogonum jamesii) Green leaves concentrated at base with 12" branched leafless stalks have small yellow-red-brown flowers that remain through the winter. Petals 'bunchy'.
======> TALL WOODY-ISH STEM?
Firecracker Penstemon (penstemon eatoni) A perennial. Leaves concentrated at base with a 2' strong stem supporting tubular red flowers. Most often in rocky areas. Blooms from March to June.
======> THISTLE (ouch)?
Arizona Thistle (cirsium arizonicum) Grows up to 4' tall. Bright red flower with slender head. Blooms from May to October.Leaves up to 2" long, spiny and tipped.
======> FLOWERS IN SPIKE-LIKE CLUSTERS ALONG STEM?
Desert Rhubarb (rumex hymenosepalus) Also known as canaigre. Thick course plant up to 40" tall. Course leaves grow on long thick stems at base (rhubarb substitute). Single thick stem grows from deep tannin-rich roots. Compact clusters of red flowers grow from stem tip from March to April.

PURPLE AND BLUE FLOWERS
======> SUNFLOWER-LOOKING FLOWER?
Blue Gilia (gilia longiflora) A dark green plant, with many 12" thin stems and limited narrow leaves. Small pale-blue flowers with 5 petals, almost sweet-pea shaped. Surround a center long tube. Blooms from May to November.
Mojave Aster (machaeranthers tephrodes) Has leafy branched stems up to 3' growing from a woody base. Purple-pink flowers have long slender non-overlapping petals, white towards center and surrounding a yellow dome. Leaves have spiny teeth and a spiked tip. Blooms from March to May and later in the fall.
Trailing Four-O'Clock (allionia incarnata) Flowers are a pink, with petals overlapping and two-tipped. Actually grows in clusters of three but appears as a single flower. Opposing leaves. Grows close to the ground, stalks 4", usually in sandy area. Blooms from April to September.
======> SWEET PEA-LIKE FLOWER?
American Brooklime (veronica americana) Light purple flower with four overlapping petals, white towards a center yellow globe. Stems up to 40" tall and often in a dense grouping. Leaves are long and opposing. Plant usually in moist soil. Blooms May to August.
Feather Dalea (dalea formosa) A perennial semi-evergreen plant up to 3' high. Small leaves with 7-15 little leaflets. Flowers have four bright purple petals and one yellow petal surrounded by a feathery plume. Blooms from March to June.
Goodding Verbena (glandularia gooddingii) Five pink/purple petals surrounding a small 'hole'. Plant grows as a mound about a foot high with leaves 1-2" long, lobed with fine hairs. Blooms from March to June.
Spiderwort (tradescantia occidentalis) Flower has three cupped-rounded triangular petals that are lavender or reddish-purple. White center of each petal. Dark narrow 6" leaves at base.
======> PETALS LONG AND CURVED OUTWARDS?
Brownfoot (acourtia wrightii) Also known as perezia. A perennial. Petals are purple-pinkish, long and somewhat overlapping. Center deep-red stamen. Plants up to 3' tall. Dark green leaves up to 5" leathery and crinkled.
======> TIGHTLY CLUSTERED ON A STEM?
Coulter's Lupine (lupinus sparsiflorus) Most easily recognized by the leaves which are in a flat rosette. Flowered stalks are up to 2' long and support purple-white flowers that cluster near the end. Seeds are poisonous. Name is latin for 'wolf' due to believed robbing soil of fertility. Blooms from late winter to early spring. If you're from Texas, the famous bluebonnets are also lupines.
Owl's Clover (orthocarpus purpurascens) Flowers on a stalk in a dense grouping rose-purple color on upper section, white on lower. Long green leaves up to 2". Blooms from March to May.

======> PETALS CRINKLY AND BENT?
Elegant Lupine (lupinus concinnus) Grey-green plant about 6" tall with clustered purple flowers on short stems. Leaves are very hairy. Blooms from March to May.
Larkspur (delphinium) A buttercup. Leafless stems grow up to 16" with dark-blue/purple flowers near ends. Petals are white toward the center. Each flower has a spur projecting backward. Looks very similar to cultivated delphiniums. Blooms March to July. Bacause they contain toxic alkaloids, larkspurs are poisonous to livestock, especially sheep.
Wild Geranium (geranium caespitasum) True geranium, plant up to 18" tall. Five light purple petals bent backwards and crinkled with center white rib. Leaves up to 2" and lobed with soft hairs. Blooms May to September.
======> LITTLE YELLOW 'PEAS' HANGING ON PLANT?
White Horsenettle (solanum elaegnifolium) Also known as silverleaf nightshade. Bush plant with light grey leaves 1-4" long and wavy edges. Lavender 5-pointed star-shaped flowers in a cone-shape. Most easily recognized by the little yellow berries. Native-americans added the crushed berries to milk in making cheese. Blooms from May to September.
======> THISTLE (ouch)?
New Mexico Thistle (cirsium neomexicano) Tall plant with purple-pink thistle-like flowers, that look like a ball but are a tight cluster of tiny tubular flowers and spine-tipped bracs. Look closely! Dark green leaves, spiny and heavily lobed. Navajos and Hopis used the plant for medicinal purposes. Blooms from March to September.
======> FERN-LIKE BUT LARGER LEAVES?
Spotted Locoweed (astragalus lentigenosus) Also known as freckled milkvetch. Plant looks similar to a small bush (thick group of stems) about 14" high. Stems up to 16" long with tubular-wrapped pink or purplish flowers not obvious. Blooms from April to June.
======> TALL WOODY-ISH STEM?
Canyon Penstemon (penstemon pseudospectabilis) Stalks about 3' tall with arrow-shaped leaves that tightly clasp stalk. Funnel-shaped pink flowers bloom from March to May.
Palmer Penstemon (penstemon palmeri) A perennial with a tall(!) up to 7' strong stem. Leaves grow 'around' the stem on opposite sides. Puffy-pink flowers toward top with red lines on underside. Bloom from May to June.
Parry's Penstemon (penstemon perryi) These have 4' erect stalks with limited leaves that tightly clasp stalk. Flowers are pink-purple and funnel shaped with five rounded lobes. Blooms from March to May.