Desert Wildflower List
Also see >> Wildflower Photo GuideCommon Name - Scientific Name
WHITE
Woolly Amsonia - Amsonia tomentosa
Desert Star - Monoptilon bellioides
Dune Evening Primrose - Oenothera deltoides
Datura - Datura wrightii
Desert Chicory - Rafinesquia neomexicana
Prickly Poppy - Argemone corymbosa
.Cream Cups - Platystemon californicus - White
.Desert Lily - Hesperocallis undulata - White
.Fremont's Pin Cushion - Chaenactis fremontii - White
_White Layia, Tidy Tips - Layia glandulosa - W119-munz
_Desert Tobacco - Nicotiana obtusifolia - W114-munz
_Brown-eyed Primrose - Camisonia claviformis - W168-munz
_Desert Alyssum, Bush Peppergrass - Lepedium fremontii - W144-mackay
_Thick-leaved Ground Cherry - Physalis Crassifolia - W261-mackay
_Booth's Primrose - Camissonia boothii ssp. desertorum - W167-mackay
_California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium - W177-mackay
_Yerba Mansa - Anemopsis californica - W138-stark
_Rattlesnake Weed - Euphorbia albomarginata - W17-stark
_Gravel Ghost, Parachute Plant - Atrichoseris platyphylla - W128-mackay
_Schott Gilia, Little Sunbonnets - Loeseliastrum schotti - W175-mackay
YELLOW
Fiddleneck - Amsincaia sp.
Bigelow Coreopsis - Coreopsis bigelovii
Brittlebush - Encelia farinosa
Desert Senna - Senna armata
Golden Gilia - Linanthus aureus
Desert Trumpet - Eriogonum inflatum
.Desert Parsley - Lomatium mohavense - Yellow
.Goldfields - Lasthenia californica - Yellow
.Desert Dandelion - Malocothryx glabrata - Yellow
_Mojave Sun Cup, Field Primrose - Camissonia campestris - Y247-mackay
_Wallace Woolly Daisy - Eriophyllum wallacei - Y207-mackay
_Mojave Poppy - Eschscholtzia glyptosperma - Y155-munz
_Creosote - Larrea tridentata - Y262-mackay
_Trailing Townula - Sarcostemma hirtellum - Y180-munz
_Desert Rock-pea - Lotus rigidus - Y242-mackay
_Shrubby Butterweed - Senecio flaccidus var. monoensis - Y205-munz
_Desert Marigold - Baileya multiradiata - Y190-mackay
_Desert Sunflower - Geraea canescens - Y208-mackay
_Western Wallflower - Erysimum capitatum - Y156-munz
_Rock-Daisy - Perityle emoryi - Y200-munz
_Scale-Bud - Anisocoma acaulis - Y189-mackay
_Prince's Plume - Stanleya pinnata - y158-munz
_Bladderpod - Isomeris arborea - y239-mckay
PINK
Lilac sunbonnet - Langloisia setosissima - Pink
Desert five-spot - Eremalche rotundifolia - Pink
Desert Sand Verbena - Abronia villosa - Pink
Desert Calico - Loeseliastrum matthewsii - Pink
Owl's Clover - Castilleja exserta - Pink
_White Rhatany - Krameria grayii - P95-mackay
_Desert Willow - Chilopsis linearis - P85-mackay
ORANGE
Globemallow - Sphaeralcea ambigua
California Poppy - Escholtzia californica
RED
Chuparosa - Justicia californica
Desert Indian Paintbrush - Castilleja augustifolia
Purple Mat - Nama demissum
.Red Maids - Calandrini ciliata - Red
.Red Stem Filaree - Erodium cicutarium - Purple/Magenta
_Monkey Flower - Mimulus bigelovii - R62-munz
_Eaton's Firecracker - Penstemon eatonii - R59-munz
_California Fagonia - Fagonia laevis - R43-munz
_Apricot Mallow - Sphaeraicea ambigua - R47-munz
BLUE
Indigo Bush - Psorothamnus arborescens
Desert Larkspur - Delphinium parishii
Chia - Salvia columbariae
Mojave Aster - Aster mohavensis
Davy Gilia - Gilia latiflora ssp. Davyi
Desert Lavender - Hyptis emoryi
Fremont Phacelia - Phacelia fremontii
.Blue Dicks - Dichelostemma capitatum - Blue
.Lacy Phacelia - Phacelia cryptantha - Blue
.Pygmy-Leaved Lupine - Lupinus bicolor - Blue
.Canterbury Bells - Phacelia campanularia - Blue
_Desert Lupine, Shockley Lupine - Lupinus Shockleyi - B50-mackay
_Thistle Sage - Salvia carduacea - B142-munz
_Paperbag Bush - Salazaria mexicana - BP58-mackay
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-New Pages in Progress
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Lace-leaf Phacelia, Fat-leaf Phacelia - Phacelia Distans B55-mckay
Miner's Lettuce - Montia sp. -
Leafy-stemmed Coreopsis - Coreopsis calliopsidea
Heart-leaved Primrose
White-bracted stick-leaf, Blazing star - Mentzelia involucrata
Schott Gilia, Little Sunbonnets - Loeseliastrum schotti W175-mckay
Goldenhead - Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus y186-munz
Rayless Encelia, Green Brittlebush - Encelia frutescens Y199-mckay
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Little White Forget-Me-Not - Cryptantha sp. - White
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
> 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.
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
