​Spiny Blue Bowls, Desert Blue Gilia, Bluebowls
Giliastrum acerosum
Phlox Family (Polemoniaceae)

Found in dry, open, gravelly areas
Seen blooming in April in Poshuouinge, Santa Fe NF

Although it grows only three to six inches tall Spiny Blue Bowls are noticeable because of their deep blue flowers. Flowers are ½ inch across with a bright yellow center. Leaves are needle-like and stems woody. Native Americans massaged the crushed plant on cramping muscles. Source.
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If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.

​Newberry’s Milkvetch
Astragalus newberryi var. newberryi
Pea Family (Fabaceae)

Found in sandy, dry areas
Seen blooming in April on Chimney Rock Trail at Ghost Ranch

This beautiful little plant grows low to the ground with 5 to 11 silky leaflets. Flowers are showy, bright pink/purple with a lighter center and are over one inch long. Seed pods are curved and covered in silky, white hairs. Traditional uses for Newberry’s Milkvetch are unknown, but other Milkvetch species have uses. The plant is considered poisonous, especially to stock and horses, however medicinally; a decoction of the whole plant was used as a wash for the head, hair and whole body, for stomach disorders, as a gargle for sore throats, a poultice of crushed leaves applied to a lame back, applied as an ointment for animals with urination troubles, roots were chewed as a cathartic, an infusion of root was used as a wash for sores and as a wash for granulated eyelids and toothaches, also plants were used as a ceremonial emetic, the seeds used for food, and pounded seeds mixed with other foods and used as a spice. Source.
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If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.

Found in sunny, sandy, dry areas, waste ground
Seen blooming in April in Red Wash Canyon
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The Borage family are low growing, densely hairy plants and have flowers with five petals. Cryptanthas are distinguished by their tiny white clusters of flowers with a yellow center, the “eye”. They are commonly known as Cat’s Eyes. Plants will often show last year’s dried stems and leaves. This one grows to about 6 inches high in clumps. Native Americans, specifically the Navajo, used Tawny Cat’s Eye for medicinal purposes: a decoction of plants was taken at childbirth, a cold infusion was used to treat snakebites, a poultice applied for toothaches and the plants were chewed for coughs and colds. Source.

If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.

​Image Courtesy of Mario Manzo

Found in open sandy and rocky areas
Seen blooming in September in Red Wash Basin

Dotted Blazing Star grows to 32 inches with unbranched stems and narrow leaves. Small lavender to pale pink flowers grow in narrow spikes that bloom from the top down. It has a remarkable root system with lateral branches extending to 5 feet and the taproot reaching up to 16 feet. Domestic livestock like the Dotted Blazing Star, particularly sheep. Elk and White-Tail Deer also eat it; it is sometimes called Deer Potatoes. A variety of small rodents like it, especially the roots, and it is the only source of food for some butterflies. Native Americans used the plant for food and medicinal purposes. The root was boiled or baked before eating. Plains tribes used the Dotted Blazing Star to make a tea that was used for kidney, bladder, and menstrual problems, water retention, gonorrhea, colic, sore throat and laryngitis. Mashed roots were applied to snake bites. Dry roots were burned like incense to relieve headaches, nosebleeds, and tonsillitis. Source.

If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.   

By Marilyn Phillips

Found in disturbed areas
Seen blooming in September near Hwy 554
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Ragweed pollen is considered the number one cause of hay fever in the late-summer and fall. Each plant can produce over a billion grains of pollen per season which occurs from mid-August until frost. It is also a prolific producer of seeds that provide food for birds and small mammals. Common Ragweed grows from one to three feet tall with deeply cut, softly hairy, fern-like leaves. Flowers are tiny and yellow-green. Male flowers grow above the female flowers on the same spike. Seeds are enclosed in a hard bur. Despite its bad reputation, Native Americans found many medicinal uses for it. Crushed leaves were applied externally to insect bites, rheumatic joints and various skin complaints, internally they are used as a tea in the treatment of fevers, pneumonia, nausea, intestinal cramps, diarrhea and mucous discharges. Juice from the wilted leaves is disinfectant and was applied to infected toes. A tea made from the roots was used in the treatment of menstrual disorders and stroke. The plant was used for toilet paper. Today, the pollen is harvested commercially for use in pharmaceuticals designed to treat hay fever. Source.
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If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.