Flowers of the Southwest Deserts

by Natt N. Dodge

The desert species are well worthy of consideration for cultivation as garden ornamentals.

PURPLE

Nama demissum

Common names: PURPLEMAT, PURPLE ROLL-LEAF Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Nama demissum). Red-purple. March-May. Waterleaf family. Size: Tiny plant, an inch or so high.

Although the plants are very small, they grow close together and the blossoms are often quite large in comparison. The reddish-purple color of the flowers stands out in sharp contrast to the green of spring vegetation so that a widespread growth of the plants forms patches or mats of colorful desert carpeting.

Masses of the plants are usually found on open flats, often among Creosotebush, and on either clay or sandy soils. In dry years, growth is restricted and a tiny plant may bear but a single flower, the blossom sometimes almost as large as the rest of the plant.

PURPLE

Boerhaavia caribaea