Vacation wild flowers from the Mojave, mostly

I will try to identify these but may get some wrong. I took about a jillion photos. Desert Mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua.

Here we go. Desert Dandelion, Malacothrix glabrota. These were all over the place.

I think this is California Chicory, Rafinesquia californica.

Oh my! Those are so pretty!
Josephine.

I'll post more later. I need to go to class pretty soon. This might be a Joshua Tree bloom or it might be a yucca. A Joshua Tree is a type of yucca and they are all from the lily family! I think.

What else have I got? These strange things appear to be some sort of parasite, like mistletoe, that were taking over various shrubs in a sandy wash in Nevada, near Laughlin. Does anyone know what they are?

Next we have a little gold poppy.

I especially like this plant. I think it is Desert Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja angustifolia.

There are more. Beavertail cactus blooms, Opuntia basilaris. Not that many cactus had really started to bloom yet. This was about a week ago.

I thought these were really cool but it was windy and they were hard to photograph. Blazing Star, Mentzelia involucrata?

Another shot at those Blazing Stars...

I just about drove my D.H. nuts with all the picture taking! These are Canterbury Bells, Phacelia campanularia. I still have more but I'm kind of burned out myself, looking at all the Latin names! l.o.l.

Nice pics! One of these years I want to head over to the desert for spring wildflowers, I've heard it's really beautiful that time of year.

Penny! What a gorgeous collection of photos! I even like the photo of the parasite berries! The stems, yellow flowers and berries look right for Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum).
I can't find your Mentzelia involucrata in Plantfiles. You should add it along with your gorgeous photos! The Mentzelia(multiflora) I see around here are one of my favorites. So pretty & bloom their hearts out when almost nothing else is; withstanding drought & heat. We are having a pitiful season here. I've seen one Phacelia (Scorpionweed) blooming and two London Rockets - that's all!
About scientific names; just post them if you know them or can find them & then I love seeing if I can help with the others. Kind of like a treasure hunt for me :-)

Angele, I appreciate the information about the Desert Mistletoe. Of course, I have to look up the Latin names and have trouble pronouncing them. Still, I'd like to get accustomed to using them more because it really helps with identification. (Duh.) I did look on Plantfiles for the Mentzelia involucrata and will try to add it. I haven't done that before so it may take awhile. Thanks, Penny

These have been around awhile but I can add to it. I think this is Chia, Salvia Columbariae. I read that the seeds are nutritious and were eaten by Native Americans.

I think this is Purple Mat, Nama demissum. But then I wonder if it is Sand Verbena.

I think you are right on with the Nama. We have the Nama hispidum growing around here and the flower is much the same. The plant I know as Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa) has a long flower stalk with a rounded inflorescence.

Thanx, Angele. I kept looking at guide books and the Nama seemed right. I hope we get some good weather for awhile here in SantaFe so I can get out and look for wild plants at home. When it hasn't been snowing there have been controlled burns all over the place. And wind, of course!

I almost think I'd trade weather. We have had less than a tenth of an inch of moisture in the last 5 months. Drier than I have ever seen it. The cactus are even shriveling up! I found one tiny aster blooming. The Littleleaf Sumac bloomed and so are the Dalea formosa. I don't know how they are managing.

Oh Angele, I am sorry to hear about your drought.
Josephine.

I am in a pout for sure. Last week we had our good-as-dead Catalpa pulled out of the front yard and found some kind of black smelly fungus? on the roots directly under the trunk. We had the roots tested last fall trying to figure out why it was dying but the sample was taken about 7 feet from the tree. It looked & tested fine. Now my whole front yard is nothing but sand and a big hole where the tree used to be. Instead of planting my new yard I have to wait till we find out what problem we have and what to do about it. ~sigh

Bless your heart, I hope things get better soon.

Drought is not good. I'm not feeling very optimistic about our water situation this summer. Of course, the weather can change on a dime! Let's hope so.

Sure is a beautiful wild flower walk.
Sorry things are so dry there. Hope they even out soon.

Lovely photos of your trip! It is very dry here too. It is normal to have periods of drought here. I did miss all the wonderful cactus and wildflower blooms, but will just make them more special when they are back another season.

Sorry about your tree Angele. One of our Chatulpa looks great and the second one not 40 feet away from it looks very thin and spindly in comparison. I water them both the same. Let me know what they say about your tree. I keep saying maybe we just planted it in more caliche than the other one?

Angele, I've lost more plants over this winter than ever before. It was cold and dry. Most of my rocky mt. penstemon died, not to mention thyme and even some lavender.

I try and pay attention to our rain cycles and if we have not gotten any moisture for a few weeks in winter, I go out and water some. I try not to waste but I feel a bit of water then, often is what saves the plants. I water my non-native trees once a month in winter.

We tend to keep the outside water turned off when it gets down to freezing. We are doing the On/Off thing as our night temps. see-saw. I need to water tomorrow.