Rafinesquia neomexicana  (desert chicory) ( ) Asteraceae A white-flowered spring bloomer, this annual shares a few superficial features with the blue-flowered perennial chicory introduced from Europe and now widespread throughout much of America. Desert chicory is short but profusely branching and has deeply divided, arrow-shaped leaves. In wet winters, it becomes abundant upon plains, gentle bajadas, and mesas, from 200 feet in the desert, to its grassland edge above 3, 000 feet. In some dry years, it may fail altogether even when other herbs flower. Its bloom may stretch from March to May.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988."

  Lasthenia gracilis  (goldfields) ( ) Lasthenia chrysostoma Asteraceae This low-growing, tiny-flowered annual has linear, opposite leaves and forms small clumps or large carpets after good winter rains. Its small yellow, terminal heads seldom reach six inches in height. Found on mesas and plains from 1, 500 to 4, 500 feet in elevation, goldfields can carpet sandy flats for weeks. They bloom as early as February 20 and as late as mid-April but peak in the middle of March.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988"

  Allicelia latifolia  ( ) ( ) Gilia latifolia Polemoniaceae This pink-lavender, funnelform flower is one of many gilias within Arizona. It is an annual that is frequently visited by hummingbirds and butterflies. In wet springs, it appears in large stands on sandy soils in the Colorado and Gila river valleys, always blow 2, 000 feet. It may be found blooming anytime from mid-March to late April.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988."

  Echinocereus engelmannii  (atrawberry hedgehog) ( ) Cactaceae The reddish-purple or magenta flowers of hedgehogs rupture the skin of this cactus just above the areoles, the places where from two to six central spines cluster along the plant's ribs. The curved spines of this cactus are variable in color, from white or gold to black. Its cup-shaped flowers open for several consecutive days, attracting bees and beetles to their abundant pollen and nectar. Medium-sized bees alight on the stigma and probe into the masses of pollen below. As the bee collects one flower's pollen, it leaves behind other pollen, aiding cross-pollination. Hedgehog blooms often last only two weeks, beginning at the end of March or as late as mid-April. It grows on outwash fans, flats and, hillsides from sea level to 5,000 feet in grasslands.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988". 

  Calochortus kennedyi  (desert mariposa lily) ( ) Liliaceae This striking spring bloomer can be differentiated from other mariposas by its deep orange-red to yellow or vermilion velvety petals, each with a brownish purple spot at the base;. In some places, mariposas are beetle-pollinated. The desert mariposa has clusters of two to four flowers on a stalk rising from a bulb hidden beneath linear, basal leaves. In Arizona, its blossoming is largely limited to April, peaking in mid-month. It is found in many habitats, from desert to grassland and semi-arid woodland vegetation.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988". 

  Sphaeralcea ambigua  (globemallow) ( ) Malvaceae The large number of orange-colored flowers produced by this multi-stemmed mallow over a year provides a steady source of pollen and nectar to honeybees and mallow-specializing bees. Flower color variants occur, including ones with white, purple, red, or grenadine hues. A low-growing perennial herb, desert mallow has long panicles of flowers and roundish, shallow-lobed leaves. The leaves have star-shaped hairs on them that irritate the eyes if accidentally rubbed into them. From dry rocky slopes to washes and the banks of springs, this is one of the most adaptable of the mallow species, which seldom exhibit so much drought tolerance. Below 3,500 feet, this species blooms year around, although each plant has an individual bloom time.  "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988".