Flowers of the Southwest Deserts

by Natt N. Dodge

Closely related to the garden Zinnia, which is a native of Mexico, desert Zinnias are attractive herbs suitable for trial as ornamental border plantings.

Z. pumila prefers caliche soils and is found on dry mesas and slopes from Texas westward to southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It is often found blossoming in association with the Paperflower (Psilostrophe cooperi) which it superficially resembles. The pale yellow flowers of the Wild-zinnia turn white with age.

Z. pumila may be easily recognized by the single heavy rib running the length of each narrow leaf.

YELLOW

Acacia greggi

Common Names: CATCLAW, CAT’S-CLAW, TEARBLANKET, DEVILSCLAW Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (Acacia greggi). Pale yellow. April-October. Pea family. Size: Up to 20 feet tall.

The numerous thorns, short and curved like a cat’s claw, serve readily to identify this common, often abundant, shrub or small tree.

There are several species, some with large, bright-yellow flowers, but A. greggi is the most common and occurs throughout all of the deserts of the Southwest, at elevations below 4,000 feet, often forming thickets along streams and washes.

Flowers, like pale yellow, fuzzy caterpillars, are one of the important sources of nectar for honeybees, the trees being alive with insects during the period of heaviest blooming in April and May.