Western Wallflower
108. BITTERCRESSMustard Family
Cardamine hirsuta
You may find this plant blooming during April and May in the Sonoran Zones of Zion National Park. Its habitat is generally the dry sandy hillsides rather than the deep canyons.
The wide-spreading, circular, doom-shaped clumps present an attractive display in pure white flowers. The petals of four are arranged like a cross.
Being a perennial, the clumps seem to expand from year to year and often reach a spread of four to five feet across. The plants are useful in building soil and in preventing erosion.
Bittercress
109. HUMMINGBIRD TRUMPETEvening-primrose Family
Zauschneria garrettii
One of the late blooming plants in Zion National Park is the Hummingbird Trumpet, also called Fire-chalice, or sometimes the Wild Fushia. It can often be found on the Canyon Overlook Trail or on the West Rim Trail at elevations near 6,000 feet.
It can be identified by the narrow oval leaves pointed and toothed, and the fushialike flowers, narrowly funnel-shaped, with the pistil and stamens extending beyond the petals.