Found in moist areas, stream banks
Seen blooming in April by the Tierra Azul acequia in Abiquiu

These eye-catching flowers belong to the Boxelder Maple, a tree growing 30 to 60 feet tall with a gray-brown furrowed trunk. Unlike most maples which have a single lobed leaf, the leaves are divided into three to seven lobed leaflets. Young leaves are soft and velvety and are very similar in shape and color to Poison Ivy leaves. Old leaves turn yellow in the fall. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees. Tiny yellow-green or pink flowers with long drooping stalks bloom just before the leaves open. The photo shows male pollen-producing flowers. Female flowers mature to a pair of one-seeded samaras with curved wings which grow in drooping clusters. When the samara dries and drops from the tree, it rotates like a helicopter. There is a lovely tree by the pond in El Rito which will be festooned with samaras in June.

The sap has been used to make syrup by Native Americans and the inner bark was boiled until sugar crystallized out of it. The inner bark was scraped and dried for winter use. Sap was mixed with shavings from the inner sides of animal hides and eaten as candy. Wood was burned as incense for making spiritual medicines and a variety of ceremonial uses. It was also used to make bowls, utensils, fuel, musical instruments and pipe stems. Medicinally, a decoction of the inner bark was used as an emetic. 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.   

Found on dry, open, hot hillsides
Seen blooming in April in Plaza Blanca

Shadscale is a dense, spiny, rounded shrub growing to 2½ feet with small, oval leaves, and is easily overlooked. The leaves are covered in a scale which makes them appear silvery. Its tiny yellow flowers are inconspicuous, the pink or purplish bracts are more noticeable. It is drought tolerant and can tolerate saline soils. Traditionally, seeds were used as a grain and leaves were boiled and mixed with cornmeal to make a pudding. Wood was used to make arrow points. The plant was burned and the smoke inhaled as a treatment for epilepsy, leaves used to make a liniment for sore muscles and aches, a poultice of the mashed leaves was applied to the chest and a decoction of the leaves drunk to treat colds. The plant was also rubbed on horses to repel gnats. 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.   

​Found in disturbed soil, pastures, roadsides, grassy slopes
Seen blooming in April at the Abiquiu Post Office

The purple haze you see carpeting the medians and roadsides is caused by masses of Purple Mustard. It grows from 2 to 20 inches tall, but usually less, in dense patches with a stout fleshy stem. The lavender flowers are less than ½ inch across and are tubular with four distinctive narrow petals forming a cross. It is a tenacious annual plant and is considered a noxious weed in Colorado. It reduces yields in grain fields and when it is consumed by dairy cattle it gives their milk a bad taste and odor. It was introduced from Asia and no Native American uses were found. It has a musky smell but makes a tasty salad or sandwich according to this forager.
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If you 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 everywhere, at roadsides and in disturbed soil from sea-level to alpine peaks
Seen blooming on April 3, 2023 in my backyard

The first bloom I saw this year is generally considered a weed and a nuisance, especially in lawns, but it has culinary and medicinal uses. Dandelions grow from 2 to 16 inches tall with a single flower head on a milky, hollow stem and sharply toothed basal leaves. The many toothed petals produce a sphere of silvery fluffy seeds. A single plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds a year.

All parts of the Dandelion are edible. Young leaves and buds can be used raw in salads or smoothies, or cooked and added to soups and stews. Georgia O’Keeffe combined them with mashed potatoes, here is the recipe. Older leaves become bitter. The roots can be also be eaten and used to make coffee, the flowers are used to make a delicate, pale-yellow wine. Dandelions have been used in herbal medicine to treat infections, bile and liver problems, as a diuretic, as a mild laxative, for increasing appetite, and improving digestion. Source. The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent and as a folk remedy to treat warts. The flowers produce a yellow dye and the roots a magenta color.

If you 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.