Orthocarpus purpurascens
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.
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Opuntia spinosior
Opuntia fulgida
Opuntia acanthocarpa
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.
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Cirsium neomexicanum
Cirsium undulatum
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.
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