Found in rocky, sandy soils, sagebrush, woodlands
Seen blooming in May at Abiquiú Lake  
​
This is a DYC, a damn yellow composite, akin to an LBB in birdwatching lingo. The Sunflower family, Asteraceae, is sometimes called the Composite family and consists of about 2,400 species in North America. Many of them are yellow and share a unique flower structure. The flower head is actually composed of many small flowers packed tightly together; central disk flowers surrounded by ray flowers, the petals. Some species have only ray flowers, like the Dandelion, or only disk flowers, like Hopi Tea. Lobeleaf Groundsel has both and grows up to 16 inches high with a few purplish stems and distinctive, mostly basal, deeply cut leaves. Flowers are small but numerous with a yellow disk and 8 to 13 yellow petals. Two other DYCs blooming this week are Perky Sue and Sowthistle Desert Dandelion. Traditionally, a decoction of the plant is used by the Navajo for menstrual pain. The Yavapai inhaled a decoction of the stem for colds and for sore noses, and took a decoction of the root for stomachache. Source.

If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flower 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 moist areas, on river banks
Seen blooming in May in Abiquiú  

You have all seen the huge cottonwoods that grow along the ditches and the Rio Chama, and in its historic floodplain, but the flowers high above your head may not be so familiar. This is the red male flower, called a catkin, loaded with golden pollen. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees and emerge before the leaves. When the less conspicuous green female flower is pollinated the green seedpods hang like a small bunch of grapes before they explode and fill the air with cottony seeds. Cottonwoods can grow to 100 feet tall, more usually 50 feet, with leaning trunks up to 5 feet in diameter, wide-spreading branches and a leafy canopy. Mature trees have thick, deeply-furrowed, gray bark. Leaves are glossy green and triangular. They turn bright, golden yellow in the Fall. Native Americans used various parts of the tree; inner bark was often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc. or added to cereals when making bread, catkins are eaten raw, and the cotton and buds have been used by children as a chewing gum. The wood is used to make various items and for fuel. Source.

If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flower 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 dry openings in piñon-juniper forests and open canyons
Seen blooming in April in Red Wash Canyon

Another Milkvetch but quite different in appearance from the Missouri Milkvetch of a couple of weeks ago. Rushy Milkvetch grows like a bush to 2 feet wide and high with bright green stems and long, narrow leaves. Flowers are white and about an inch long and grow loosely clustered along the stem producing many spear-shaped 1" long seed pods. Both Missouri Milkvetch and Rushy Milkvetch contain swainsonine which is toxic to livestock and causes a wide variety of toxicological problems, including neurological, cardiovascular, and reproductive effects. For this reason, they should be more correctly called Locoweeds. “Loco” in Spanish means “crazy” and alludes to the often disoriented behavior of animals afflicted by these plants. Traditionally, the Navajo used it to induce vomiting and a poultice of the plant was applied to a goiter. Source.
​
If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flower 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 dry, sandy areas in piñon-juniper woodlands
Seen blooming in April in Arroyo de los Pinavetes, Santa Fe NF, Medanales

When most of the vegetation looks dead, even after some rain, it is a welcome sight to see bright yellow flowers and fresh, green leaves growing out of a clump of old, gray stems. Brenda’s Yellow Cryptantha grows to about 10 inches high in clumps, covered in bristly hairs. Leaves are grey-green and narrow growing out of the dried stems and leaves from previous years. Flowers grow in clusters and are tubular with five petals. I was unable to find out who Brenda was to give her name to a flower, or why it is also called a Miner’s Candle. Traditionally, the Hopi used it to treat cancer and growth in the throat and the Navajo used it as a dusting powder for sore eyes, for postpartum purification, and relief of intestinal inflammation. Source.
​
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 in dry openings in pinyon-juniper and sagebrush, and roadsides
Seen blooming in April at the intersection of 68 and 56 in Ohkay Owingeh

There are many species of Milkvetch that grow in our area. The Missouri Milkvetch is so named because it was first collected nearby the Missouri River in 1811. It grows low and sprawling to 5 inches high, covered in dense, white hairs which give the plant a silvery-green appearance. Leaves are divided into 11 to 21 oval leaflets which arch or lay on the ground. Flowers are pink-purple with a white splash in the center, up to 1 inch long, and grow in a cluster at the top of the flower stalk. The flowers turn blue with age. Seedpods are 1 inch long, slightly hairy and slightly curved. Medicinal uses of this specific Milkvetch are unknown. Astragalus root is used to make medicine for hay fever, diabetes, kidney disease, and many other conditions, but some species contain a nerve toxin and have been linked to livestock poisonings. Source.

If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flower 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.