Mojave Desert Wildflower List
Also see >> Wildflower Photo GuideCommon Name - Scientific Name
WHITE
Booth's Primrose - Camissonia boothii ssp. desertorum - W167-mackay
Brown-eyed Primrose - Camisonia claviformis - W168-munz
California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium - W177-mackay
Cream Cups - Platystemon californicus
Datura - Datura wrightii
Desert Alyssum, Bush Peppergrass - Lepedium fremontii - W144-mackay
Desert Chicory - Rafinesquia neomexicana
Desert Lily - Hesperocallis undulata
Desert Star - Monoptilon bellioides
Desert Tobacco - Nicotiana obtusifolia - W114-munz
Dune Evening Primrose - Oenothera deltoides
Gravel Ghost, Parachute Plant - Atrichoseris platyphylla - W128-mackay
Little Sunbonnets, Schott Gilia - Loeseliastrum schotti - W175-mackay
Fremont's Pin Cushion - Chaenactis fremontii
Prickly Poppy - Argemone corymbosa
Rattlesnake Weed - Euphorbia albomarginata - W17-stark
Thick-leaved Ground Cherry - Physalis Crassifolia - W261-mackay
Tidy Tips,White Layia - Layia glandulosa - W119-munz
Woolly Amsonia - Amsonia tomentosa
Yerba Mansa - Anemopsis californica - W138-stark
YELLOW
Bigelow Coreopsis - Coreopsis bigelovii
Bladderpod - Isomeris arborea - y239-mckay
Brittlebush - Encelia farinosa
Creosote - Larrea tridentata - Y262-mackay
Desert Dandelion - Malocothryx glabrata
Desert Marigold - Baileya multiradiata - Y190-mackay
Desert Parsley - Lomatium mohavense
Desert Rock-pea - Lotus rigidus - Y242-mackay
Desert Senna - Senna armata
Desert Sunflower - Geraea canescens - Y208-mackay
Desert Trumpet - Eriogonum inflatum
Fiddleneck - Amsincaia sp.
Golden Gilia - Linanthus aureus
Goldfields - Lasthenia californica - Yellow
Mojave Poppy - Eschscholtzia glyptosperma - Y155-munz
Mojave Sun Cup, Field Primrose - Camissonia campestris - Y247-mackay
Prince's Plume - Stanleya pinnata - y158-munz
Rock-Daisy - Perityle emoryi - Y200-munz
Scale-Bud - Anisocoma acaulis - Y189-mackay
Shrubby Butterweed - Senecio flaccidus var. monoensis - Y205-munz
Trailing Townula - Sarcostemma hirtellum - Y180-munz
Wallace Woolly Daisy - Eriophyllum wallacei - Y207-mackay
Western Wallflower - Erysimum capitatum - Y156-munz
ORANGE
Apricot Mallow - Sphaeraicea ambigua - R47-munz
California Poppy - Escholtzia californica
RED
California Fagonia - Fagonia laevis - R43-munz
Chuparosa - Justicia californica
Desert Indian Paintbrush - Castilleja augustifolia
Eaton's Firecracker - Penstemon eatonii - R59-munz
Monkey Flower - Mimulus bigelovii - R62-munz
Purple Mat - Nama demissum
Red Maids - Calandrini ciliata - Red
Red Stem Filaree - Erodium cicutarium - Purple/Magenta
PINK
Desert Calico - Loeseliastrum matthewsii - Pink
Desert five-spot - Eremalche rotundifolia - Pink
Desert Sand Verbena - Abronia villosa - Pink
Desert Willow - Chilopsis linearis - P85-mackay
Lilac sunbonnet - Langloisia setosissima - Pink
Owl's Clover - Castilleja exserta - Pink
White Rhatany - Krameria grayii - P95-mackay
BLUE
Blue Dicks - Dichelostemma capitatum - Blue
Canterbury Bells - Phacelia campanularia - Blue
Chia - Salvia columbariae
Davy Gilia - Gilia latiflora ssp. Davyi
Desert Larkspur - Delphinium parishii
Desert Lavender - Hyptis emoryi
Desert Lupine, Shockley Lupine - Lupinus Shockleyi - B50-mackay
Fremont Phacelia - Phacelia fremontii
Indigo Bush - Psorothamnus arborescens
Lacy Phacelia - Phacelia cryptantha - Blue
Mojave Aster - Aster mohavensis
Paperbag Bush - Salazaria mexicana - BP58-mackay
Pygmy-Leaved Lupine - Lupinus bicolor - Blue
Thistle Sage - Salvia carduacea - B142-munz
--Update in Progress
Lace-leaf Phacelia, Fat-leaf Phacelia - Phacelia Distans B55-mckay
Miner's Lettuce - Montia sp. -
Leafy-stemmed Coreopsis - Coreopsis calliopsidea
White-bracted stick-leaf, Blazing star - Mentzelia involucrata
Goldenhead - Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus y186-munz
Rayless Encelia, Green Brittlebush - Encelia frutescens Y199-mckay
Little White Forget-Me-Not - Cryptantha sp. - White
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Heart-leaved Primrose
Desert Hyacinth - Brodiaea capitata -
Weak Stem Mariposa - Calochortus flexuosa - Orange
Red Mariposa - Calochortus kennedyi -
Desert Milkweed - Asclepias erosa -
Water Cress - Rorippa sp. -
Fragrant Penstamen - Penstamen palmeri
Desert Linanthus
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Wildflowers & Wildlife Notes:
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Also see the:
>> Mojave Desert Cactus Guide
>> Plant Glossary
References:
A Flower Watcher's Guide - Milt Stark
Desert Wildflowers - Philip A. Munz
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - Pam MacKay
The Jepson Desert Manual
> Wildflower Photos
> Blooming Periods
The extent and timing of spring wildflower blooms may vary greatly from one year to the next in the California deserts. Blooms are dependent upon many environmental factors, with winter precipitation and spring temperatures the key ones.
In general, spring flowering begins as temperatures rise -- first at lower elevations in February and later at higher elevations in March and April. On mountain tops above 5,000 feet blooms are as late as June.
Some believe that spectacular desert blooms occur on an average about once every twenty years and others say that an ideal year comes once every three or four decades.
Most spring wildflowers in the desert are annuals. Strict germination requirements are a kind of insurance for the seed, keeping it from germinating when it isn't likely to survive to maturity.
Three plants that seem to bloom even in poor years are the Bladderpod, Creosote Bush and the Jimson Weed or Datura.
