Polemoniaceae (phlox family)
Eriastrum diffusum (Gray) Mason

Native, annual, many-branched herbs, growing on dry plains at 1000-5500' elevation. Leaves alternate, pinnately divided with linear lobes, dark green. Inflorescence open-paniculate and glomerulate at branch tips, blooming March-April; corolla tube regular, funnelform-salverform with lobes much shorter than tube, blue, day-blooming. Plants observed on sandy flats and eastern bajada, ~1620-1650' elevation.
 

Gilia stellata Heller

Native, annual herbs, growing to few dm tall, usually in sandy areas much below 7000' elevation. Habit somewhat scapose, leaves tending to be basal, pinnatifid; plant glabrous to minutely puberulent. Inflorescence open-paniculate with branches ascending and flowers solitary, terminal; corolla white, funnelform, narrow, scarcely surpassing the calyx tube, blooming February-June. Plants observed on rocky slopes and in rocky or gravelly washes in the Sawtooth Mountains, at 1650-1750' elevation.
 

Linanthus bigelovii (Gray) Greene

Native, annual, many-branched herbs, growing on dry flats or slopes below 3500' elevation. Stems and leaves dark, leaves linear, entire, opposite and numerous. Flowers solitary-axillary, sessile; calyx cylindrical, corolla salverform, whitish or buff-colored and tinged purple underneath; dusk-blooming, February-May. Observed on sandy flats south of Wildcat Peak, ~1620' elevation. Plants very fragrant when blooming.


Hydrophyllaceae (water-leaf family)
Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia (Benth.) Greene

Native, annual, prostrate to viny plant to less than 25" long; growing in shady areas below 3000' elevation. Dark green and tinged reddish, bipinnatifid leaves, not clasping or sheathing; flowers minute, in terminal racemes, blooming February-May. Observed growing in gravelly washes west of Wildcat Peak and in eastern foothills of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1650' elevation.
 

Eucrypta micrantha (Torr.) Heller

"small-flowered eucrypta"

Native, annual, viny plant with weak stems trailing to 10" long, growing in shady areas below 4000' elevation. Leaves dark green, pinnately-lobed, clasping or sheathing. Flowers bell-shaped, 5-merous, minute, bluish-purple or white, blooming February-May. Typically observed under shrubs and along washes on sandy flats and bajada, ~1620' elevation.
 

Nama demissum Gray

"purple mat"

Native, annual herb growing in desert flats below 3500' elevation. Simple to many-branched, to 3" tall; leaves simple, narrow. Relatively large solitary, purple, funnelform-salverform, 5-merous flower, blooming February-May. Observed in sandy flats south of Wildcat Peak, ~1620' elevation.
 

Nama hispidum Gray

Native, annual herb growing on dry plains and in sandy soils below 5000' elevation. Stems leafy, decumbent to spreading, herbage hispid; leaves alternate, lanceolate, sessile. Inflorescences solitary, terminal, blooming February-June; calyx deeply cleft, flower funnelform, limb violet, tube green. Stamens 5, included, adnate at different levels on corolla tube; style bifid, capsule 2-celled. Plants growing on banks of Greene Wash, ~1570' elevation.
 

Phacelia ambigua Jones

"notch-leaved phacelia"

(var. ambigua) Native, annual herbs, growing to 60 cm on plains and in foothills 500-5000' elevation. Stems simple with few inflorescence branches, plants ill-scented; leaves mostly basal, hispid with scattered glands, pinnately cleft to irregularly divided, lobes serrate. Inflorescence elongate-scorpioid, cymose, terminal, blooming February-June; corolla violet. Anthers yellow and exserted; style bifid 2/3 of length. Capsule 3.3-3.5 mm, seeds 3.3 mm. Plants observed on eastern bajada, 1600-1650' elevation. This species and P. bombycina formerly united as P. crenulata.
 

Phacelia distans Benth.

"wild heliotrope"

Native, perennial herbs to a few dm long, growing along washes and under shrubs at 1000-4000' elevation. Stems prostrate, creeping, forming large masses; leaves pinnatifid, puberulent, especially on veins. Inflorescences scorpioid, cymose, terminal, blooming February-May; calyx lobes linear-lanceolate and hirsute, corolla bluish-purple, anthers purple and stamens exserted. Observed along washes in eastern foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains, ~1650' elevation.


Boraginaceae (borage family)
Amsinckia intermedia Fisch. & Meyer

"fiddleneck"

Native, annual herbs to a few dm tall; growing in dry, open areas below 4000' elevation. Stems and leaves hirsute, leaves narrow, lanceolate, alternate; hairs sharp and persistent in the skin once plants are dry. Inflorescence a scorpioid, spicate cyme, blooming March-May; corolla yellow, funnelform, 5-lobed, 10-nerved below the stamens. Grows on Greene Wash floodplain in extensive, nearly pure and uniform stands; on sandy flats and bajada, grows less profusely and typically to larger size, generally below 1700' elevation.
 

Cryptantha angustifolia (Torr.) Greene

"narrow-leaved cryptantha"

Native, annual herbs branching from base, stems decumbent, growing in Larrea desert below 4000' elevation. Stems and herbage hirsute; leaves linear, alternate. Inflorescence of elongate scorpioid cymes; flowers minute, sessile, white, blooming February-June. Fruit comprising three similar nutlets and one "odd" nutlet, all roughened, gynobase scarcely surpassing nutlets. Observed commonly on sandy flats south of Wildcat Peak, ~1620' elevation.
 

Cryptantha pterocarya (Torr.) Greene

Native, annual, many-branched herb, typically growing below 4000' elevation. Herbage hirsute. Calyx not circumscissle; corolla white, 5-merous, inconspicuous, blooming March-June. Fruit comprising 4 nutlets: 3 winged and one wingless, gynobase shorter than nutlets. Observed growing in gravelly wash in eastern foothills of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1620' elevation.
 

Pectocarya platycarpa Munz & Johnst.

"broad-nutted comb bur"

Native, annual, low herbs, growing on flats below 5000' elevation. Minute, white, 5-merous flowers, blooming February-April; fruit 4 straight to slightly recurved (cf. P. recurvata) nutlets with broad, toothed margins. Ubiquitous on flats and bajada south and east of the Sawtooth Mountains, <1700' elevation.


Lamiaceae (lavender family)
Hyptis emoryi Torr.

"desert lavender"

Native, perennial shrubs with densely pubescent and aromatic herbage, growing on dry, rocky slopes and in canyons below 5000' elevation. Leaves simple, serrate, ovate, opposite-decussate. Calyx tubular, bilabiate corolla violet, inflorescences contracted cymes as to appear globose; fruit 2-locular with as many ovules. One individual observed growing at base of cliff in eastern foothills of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1800' elevation, and many individuals observed on rocky west slope of Indian Head peak, to ~2000' elevation.


Solanaceae (nightshade family)
Lycium berlandieri Dunal  (another picture)

Native, perennial shrub to >2 m tall, generally on rocky slopes and plains below 3000' elevation. Stems with numerous short, thorn-tipped twigs branching at regular angles; leaves narrow, linear to spatulate, minutely puberulent, borne in fascicles sessile on stems. Flowers lavender, tubular, 4-5 lobed, blooming March-November; fruit a globose berry. Numerous plants of this type are observed in all areas of the Sawtooth Mountains, particularly along washes and on rocky slopes, 1680-1800' elevation; neither flowers nor fruits were observed on these individuals.
 

Lycium fremontii Gray  (another picture)

"Fremont thornbush"

Native, perennial shrub to 3 m tall, growing on desert flats below 2500' elevation. Stems with stout, thorn-tipped branches; leaves thick, succulent and glandular-pubescent, spatulate, in fascicles along branches. Flowers purple, tubular, 5-lobed, blooming January-March; fruit an oblong berry. These shrubs common on flats south of the Sawtooth Mountains and on the Greene Wash floodplain east of the range, <1620' elevation.
 

Lycium macrodon Gray

"desert thorn"

Native, perennial shrub to 10' tall, generally on desert flats and dry plains, 500-2000' elevation. Stems with stout, thorn-tipped branches; dark, narrow, spatulate leaves in fascicles. Flower greenish white, tubular, 5-lobed, blooming February-May; fruit a berry constricted below the middle and calyx lobes longer than the tube (cf. L. cooperi). These shrubs occur on flats south of the Sawtooth Mountains and along washes, often with L. fremontii, to ~1620' elevation.
 

Nicotiana obtusifolia Martens & Galeotti

"desert tobacco"

Native, annual or perennial herb, to 3' tall; grows along washes and in sandy areas below 6000' elevation. Stems leafy, leaves simple, alternate, elliptical, entire; tubular, 5-merous flowers in terminal, racemose inflorescences, blooming year-round, producing an apically-dehiscing capsule of numerous, minute seeds. Individual observed growing at base of cliff on east side of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1800' elevation.
 

Quincula lobata Torr.

"purple ground cherry"

Native, annual herb to several centimeters tall, growing on flats at 1000-5000' elevation. Stems caulescent, with sparse, scale-like trichomes; leaves generally oblong, pinnately- or sinuously-lobed, petioled. Flowers solitary-axillary, corollas campanulate-rotate, purple, anthers yellow; fruit a berry enclosed by the persistent, papery calyx. Plants observed growing on Greene Wash floodplain on the margins of clear areas in Amsinckia-dominated flats, ~1570' elevation.
 

Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav.

"silver-leaf nightshade"

Native, perennial herbs, growing to a conservative few dm tall, generally at 1000-5500' elevation in Arizona; potentially weedy in irrigated areas. Stems simple, erect; herbage spiny with yellow-brown spines, especially on stem and leaf mid-veins. Corolla 2-3 cm wide, purple, rotate-salverform; fruit a berry, drying yellow and persisting on stem, not enclosed by calyx. Plants scattered in dense vegetation on bank of Greene Wash, ~1570' elevation.


Scrophulariaceae (snapdragon family)
Castilleja purpurascens Benth.

"owl clover"

Native, annual herb, growth to 16". Grows on open mesas, slopes, and desert at 1500'-4500' elevation; hemiparasitic. Green, apically pink leaves narrow to thread-like, apically divided; photographed individuals with reddish foliage. Bright pink corolla tubular, zygomorphic; lower "lip" petal yellow-tipped; colorful bracts. Spicate inflorescence, blooms March-May. Plants not ubiquitous in the Sawtooth Mountains, but abundant together where found, and usually with other herbs, generally on the bajada but also on sandy flats, <1750' elevation. All-white individuals were observed in several localities on the eastern bajada.
 

Linaria texana Scheele

"blue toadflax"

Native, annual herbs, growing on plains at 1500-5000' elevation. Slender stem with short, sessile, linear leaves toward base. Bilabiate corolla with slender spur, blue to violet (cf. L. vulgaris), flowers in terminal racemes February-May, producing apically dehiscent capsule. Few individuals observed in two locations at the south end of the Sawtooth Mountains, both places growing in shallow alluvium among rocks, ~1600-1650' elevation.
 

Veronica peregrina L.

Native, annual herbs to many centimeters tall, growing along washes generally below 9000' elevation. Stems caulescent, lower leaves opposite and upper (floral) leaves alternate; herbage glandular-puberulent or glabrous, leaves linear to oblanceolate. Flowers solitary-axillary, calyx zygomorphic, corolla not longer than the calyx, blooming March to September; fruit a flattened capsule. Individual growing on bank of Greene Wash, ~1570' elevation.


Martyniaceae (unicorn plant family)
 
Proboscidea altheaefolia  (Benth.) Decne.

"devil's claw"

Native, annual herbs, growing below 2500' elevation.  Stems prostrate, viny or trailing, herbage with viscid trichomes; leaves shallowly 3-lobed with sinuous margins, long-petioled.  Flowers in terminal racemes, corolla bilabiate, yellow with brownish spots, 3-4 cm wide; fruit large, elongate, woody with thin, somewhat fleshy coat, longitudinally dehiscent with retinaculae and hooked beak.  Woody pods observed scattered on sandy flats, several vines observed on sandy flats southwest of Wildcat Peak, ~1640' elevation, with fruit, in late summer.


Orobanchaceae (broomrape family)
Orobanche cooperi Nutt.

Native, achlorophyllous root parasites, growing on roots of (usually) Asteraceae at 200-7000' elevation. Above-ground plant a dark, brownish-purple spike of bilabiate flowers with 2-flapped stigma and 4 stamens, subtended by minor, triangular bracts. Two clusters of spikes observed growing on the base of an apparently dead Ambrosia deltoidea along a wash on the eastern bajada of the Sawtooth Mountains, ~1580' elevation.


Plantaginaceae (plantain family)
Plantago ovata Forsskal.

Native, annual herbs growing on dry plains below 3000' elevation. Linear leaves from base of stem. Spike-like inflorescences, spikes short relative to width and bracts short or inconspicuous (cf. P. patagonica). Observed commonly on sandy and alluvial flats and bajada on south and east sides of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1640' elevation.
 

Plantago patagonica Roem. & Schult.

"Pursh plantain"

Native, herbaceous annual to several centimeters tall; grows on dry slopes and mesas, 1000-7000' elevation. Gray-green, linear, pubescent leaves basal; inflorescences spicate, pubescent, with long bracts subtending minute, buff-colored flowers blooming February to July. Observed along washes, on bajada, and less commonly on rocky slopes on south and east sides of Sawtooth Mountains, ~1570-1700' elevation.
 

Plantago rhodosperma Decne.

Native, annual herbs to several centimeters tall, grow along streams at 1000-6000' elevation. Plants with broad, dentate or entire leaves; flowers cleistogamous, flowering March-May. Observed in one location, growing with P. patagonica on bank of Greene Wash, ~1570' elevation.


Asclepiadaceae (milkweed family)
Sarcostemma cynanchoides Decne. subsp. hartwegii (Vail) R. Holm

"climbing milkweed"

Native, perennial, climbing on other shrubs along washes below 5500' elevation. Stems twining, becoming suffrutescent, puberulent, with milky sap; leaves linear, hastate, short-petioled, lower ones up to 1 cm wide, 4 colleters at blade base. Inflorescences of lateral umbels, peduncle longer than leaves, blooming March-October, fragrant; corolla purplish, corona white, fruit a small follicle. Observed on shrubs along washes on the eastern bajada, ~1570-1600' elevation.


Convolvulaceae (morning glory family)
Cuscuta tuberculata  Brandeg. (see a picture of another species of Cuscuta)

Native to southern Arizona and northwest Mexico, annual, commonly growing on Boerhaavia sp. (as were the Sawtooth specimens).  Plants parasitic, lacking chlorophyll, stems twining and without roots, leaves reduced to scales.  Flowers cylindric, on slender pedicels, white to ochroleucous; calyx tube ~1/2 the length of the corolla tube, corolla tube papillate in lower portion enclosed by calyx tube, corolla lobes lance-acuminate.  Stamens exserted between but shorter than corolla lobes, infrastaminal appendages (or scales) shorter than the corolla tube; styles two, stigmas green and capitate, exserted beyond corolla lobes, capsule circumscissle with 4 ovules.  Plants observed on Boerhaavia coulteri on rocky slope of a volcanic knoll west of Wildcat Peak, ~1650-1800' elevation.


Campanulaceae (bellflower family)
Nemacladus glanduliferus Jepson

"thread plant"

(var. orientalis) Native, annual; diminutive, slender, simple herbs growing in sandy deserts below 5000' elevation. Basal rosette of ovate, serrate leaves. Inflorescence indeterminate, racemose, flowers long-pediceled, blooming March-May; slightly zygomorphic, 5-merous flower, corolla white with tips of upper three petals red. Observed in scattered clusters on open sandy flats and bajada, ~1620-1640' elevation.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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