Common Name: Whispering Bells
Scientific Name: Emmenanthe penduliflora, meaning “hanging” or “pendulous” (penduli-) “flowers” (flora).
Family: Waterleaf, Hydrophyllaceae
Description: Hanging, bell-shaped pale-yellow flowers. Grows in rocky or sandy soils under 2,200 m. Widespread in both the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
Date of photo: 03/19/05
Location: Anza Borrego Desert
Common Name: Beavertail Cactus
Scientific Name: Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris, meaning “regal” in Greek.
Family: Cactus, Cactaceae
Description: Bright pink to magenta flowers. Widespread, occurring throughout the deserts into adjacent mountains. Unusual because it lacks spines. Stem segments are shaped like a beaver’s tail.
Date of photo: 03/19/05
Location: Anza Borrego Desert
Common Name: Wild Heliotrope
Scientific Name: Phacelia distans, the genus name means “bundle” or “cluster” and distans means to “stand apart” or to be “distant.”
Family: Waterleaf, Hydrophyllaceae
Description: Light blue to lavender flowers, abundant in clay, sand, gravel, and rocky soils under 2,100 m. Often found growing up through shrubs or under a creosote bush.
Date of photo: 03/19/05
Location: Anza Borrego Desert
Common Name: Thistle Sage
Scientific Name: Salvia carduacea, meaning “thistle” (cardu)
Family: Mint, Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Description: Spine-tipped leaves, spine-tipped calyx lobes, dense white woolly hairs. A common annual in the western deserts under 1,400m.
Date of photo: 04/02/05
Location: Mojave Desert Black Mountain Wilderness Area
Common Name: Desert Candle
Scientific Name: Caulanthus inflatus, meaning “inflated” (inflatus)
Family: Mustard, Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)
Description: Straight, “inflated” stem, looking like a bright yellow-green candle. An annual with wide oval leaves on lower portions of the stem.
Date of photo: 01/29/05 and 04/02/05
Location: Mojave Desert Black Mountain Wilderness Area
This photos was taken in Death Valley, specifically Saratoga Springs, on 03-11-05. It was probably my favorite flower of the trip.
Common Name: Desert Five-Spot
Scientific Name: Eremalche rotundifolia, meaning round (rotundi-) leaved (folia)
Family: Mallow Family, Malvaceae
Description: Each petal is cupped and has a rose colored patch on the inside near the base.