Common names: THISTLE, WAVY THISTLE Arizona desert: (Cirsium neomexicanum). Pink-purple. March-September. California desert: (Cirsium mohavense). Pink-white. Summer. Texas desert: (Cirsium undulatum). Red-purple. October. Sunflower family. Size: 2 to 4 feet tall, sometimes taller.
Sometimes called Bullthistles, these biennials or perennials with spiny stems, prickly leaves, and heavy flower heads ranging in color from white to purple need no introduction to most people.
The Mohave Thistle is the commonest form found in southern California, being abundant, sometimes in dense stands, in open gravelly valleys, on rocky slopes, or about alkaline seeps in the Mohave Desert. Range of the New Mexico Thistle extends westward to the eastern borders of the Mohave Desert. Cirsium californica, with white blossoms, occurs in Death Valley National Monument at elevations between 4,000 and 5,000 feet.
Navajo and Hopi Indians are reported to use the Thistle plant for medicinal purposes.
PURPLE
Abronia villosa
Common name: SANDVERBENA Arizona and California deserts: (Abronia villosa). Pink-purple. March-April. Texas desert: (Abronia angustifolia). Pink-purple. March-July. Four-o’clock family. Size: Trailing annual, stems sometimes 2 feet in length.
Sandverbenas are attractive, low-growing herbs with pink-purple to lavender, fragrant flowers forming clusters or heads which cover the plants. Desert species are conspicuous in the springtime when they line roadsides and carpet open, sandy locations, such as dry streambeds, with a mass of purple. Although they are often found in solid patches, they frequently intermingle with other spring flowers such as the Bladderpod producing a gay pattern of color.
Other species are found at higher elevations and are common during the summer months.