Desert Dandelion
Malácothrix Féndleri
Yellow
Spring
Arizona
An attractive little desert plant, about five inches tall, with stiffish, pale bluish-green leaves, forming a rosette, and pretty, very pale yellow flowers, nearly an inch across, like a delicate sort of Dandelion. It is a near relation of the common Dandelion and blooms early in the spring.
Salsify, Oyster Plant
Tragopògon porrifòlius
Purple
Spring, summer
West, etc.
This is the common Salsify, the root of which is used as a vegetable. It is naturalized from Europe and is now quite common in the West as a "stray" and also in the East. It has a smooth, stout, hollow stem, from two to over four feet tall, rather dark green, smooth leaves, clasping at base, and handsome flowers from two to four inches across, which are a very peculiar shade of reddish-purple, not usually seen in flowers. They open early in the morning, closing by midday and fading almost immediately when picked, and may be seen growing along the edges of fields and just outside garden fences where they are often quite conspicuous. This plant has many common names, such as Jerusalem Star, Nap-at-noon, and Vegetable Oyster.
Desert Chicory
Nemosèris Neo-Mexicàna (Rafinesquia)
White
Spring
Ariz., New Mex.
A straggling desert plant, from a few inches to a foot and a half high, with smooth branching stems and smooth, very pale bluish-green leaves, rather thick in texture. The pretty flowers are from one to two inches across, white, tinged with pink or cream-color and a little yellow in the middle, often striped with magenta on the outside, and the bracts of the involucre tinged with pink and bordered with white. N. Califórnica is a branching plant, from one to five feet tall, with a stout stem and smooth oblong leaves, lobed, toothed, or almost toothless, and quite pretty flowers at the ends of the branches. They are about an inch across, white, often tinged with magenta on the outside. This grows in California and Oregon, usually in shady or moist places.
There are several kinds of Cichorium, natives of the Old World. The name is from the Arabic.
Salsify—Tragopogon porrifolius.
Desert Chicory—Nemoseris Neo-Mexicana.
Desert Dandelion—Malacothrix Fendleri.
Chicory, Blue Sailors
Cichòrium Íntybus
Blue
Summer, autumn
Northwest, etc.