Common Sunflower
100. GAILLARDIASunflower Family
Gaillardia parryi
This handsome and conspicuous plant is found growing in the Sonoran Zones of Zion. It has a slender, rough stalk, about a foot tall, and stiff, rather hairy, dull-green leaves growing mostly from the root. The beautiful flowers, about three inches across, have golden-yellow rays which are three pointed. The center of the flower is a shaded maroon and yellow, very velvety, and becoming an attractive fuzzy, round, purplish head when the rays drop off. This plant blooms mostly in May and June.
Gaillardia
101. DESERT MARIGOLDSunflower Family
Baileya multiradiata
These golden-yellow flowers, measuring about three inches across, are fairly common along the trails and roadways of Zion Canyon and in other low-elevation areas of the park. They bloom during May and June. The ray flowers become bleached and papery as they mature, thus accounting for the name Paper Daisy. This attractive composite is also known as Desert Baileya. In California this plant is cultivated for the flower trade. It has been found poisonous to sheep, although horses crop the flower heads, apparently without harmful effects.
Desert Marigold