[Illustration: Calochortus kennedyi Calochortus flexuosus]
Common names: MARIPOSA, DESERT-MARIPOSA Arizona and California deserts: (_Calochortus kennedyi_). Orange. March-May. Lily family. Size: Perennial, about 2 feet tall.
Under favorable weather conditions, this short-stemmed Mariposa presents a gorgeous display of spring color. Closely related to the white-flowered Twisted-stem Mariposa (_C. flexuosus_) and to the Sego-lily (state flower of Utah), the Desert-mariposa is found below 5,000 feet in Nevada, southern California, southern Arizona, and northern Sonora. When growing beneath taller shrubs, it forsakes its short-stemmed habit and forces its way up through the low branches, displaying its blossom above.
The Mariposas, of which there are several species, are among the most beautiful wildflowers of the Southwest.
Common names: GOLDPOPPY, DESERTPOPPY, (_COPRA-DE-ORO_), MEXICAN POPPY Arizona desert: (_Eschscholtzia mexicana_). Orange. February-May. California desert: (_Eschscholtzia glyptosperma_). Bright yellow. March-May. Poppy family. Size: 3 inches to a foot high, with many flower stems.
Because of their abundance and dense growth, following winters of heavy precipitation, these annual poppies often cover portions of the desert with “a cloth of gold.” They are closely related to the well-known California Poppy, state flower of California, and a common border or bedding plant in home flower gardens. In the desert, Goldpoppies are sometimes mixed with Owlclover, Lupines, and other spring flowers forming a multi-colored carpet that attracts visitors from great distances. (See cover.)
Common names: DEVILSCLAW, UNICORNPLANT, ELEPHANT-TUSKS Arizona desert: (_Martynia parviflora_). Orange-purple. April-October. California desert: (_Martynia altheaefolia_). Coppery yellow. July-September. Texas desert: (_Martynia arenaria_). Coppery yellow. July-September. Martynia family. Size: Trailing, with stems 2 to 5 feet long.
The showy flowers, which are large enough to attract attention, are relatively few. Even more spectacular are the large, black, woody pods ending in two curved, prong-like appendages that hook about the fetlocks of burros or the fleece of sheep, thereby carrying the pod away from the mother plant and scattering the seeds. Young pods are sometimes eaten by desert Indians as a vegetable, and the mature fruits are gathered by the Pima and Papago Indians, who strip off the black outer covering and use it in weaving designs into basketry.