The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Found in meadows, open conifer forests
Seen blooming in June by FS Road 137, Carson National Forest

Larkspur grows to eighteen inches high with pale lavender to deep blue flowers, rarely white. The flowers have a long ‘spur’ to the rear of the flower which apparently resembles a Lark's foot structure giving it its common name. Leaves are deeply divided and found mostly on the lower part of the stem. All parts of the plant are toxic and poisonous to livestock, particularly when the plant is young. A blue dye can be made from the flowers, which has also been used as ink. Traditionally, native peoples have used the blue flowers for coloring arrows and other items, or for various ceremonies. 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.   

The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Found in dry, sandy areas, roadsides
Seen blooming in June by Hwy 554 near the Forest Service sign

Very big names for a plant growing only a few inches high. Greenleaf Five Eyes is a member of the Nightshade family which includes tomatillos and tomatoes and which the flowers strongly resemble. It can grow to 18 inches high with long, narrow, lobed leaves. Flowers are greenish-white with five fused petals and five stamens, about ½ inch across. There are five hairy pillow-like bumps in the center which are presumably the ‘five eyes’. The fruit matures to a whitish berry about ¼ inch across. Chama in the scientific name comes from the Greek word for false. The name Chama, as in the Rio Chama, comes from an Indian pueblo called Tsama near Abiquiu along the north side of the river near its confluence with the El Rito creek. In the Tewa language, Tsama is defined as “wrestling place” or “fighting around place”. Source. The Navajo used the plant for swellings and in cases of drowning. 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.   

The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Found in dry, sandy areas
Seen blooming in May around Mamacita’s, Hwy 554

In the fields around Mamacita’s there is a super bloom of Sowthistle Desert Dandelions happening. Thousands of showy yellow flowers are brightening the smoky landscape. In the 12 years I have lived here I have never seen this before; must be right moisture at the right time. There is also an abundance of bright orange Globemallow blooming along the highways. Sowthistle Desert Dandelions grow to 14 inches high with smooth, leaning, twisted, branched stems and short, fleshy, lobed leaves growing in a rosette. Flower heads are dandelion-like with only ray flowers and are about one inch across. Individual petals are toothed at the tip. The Navajo used the plant for vomiting; unspecified whether to induce or cure. 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.   

The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountain

By Marilyn Phillips

​Found in dry, sandy, gravelly areas, in piñon-juniper woodlands
Seen blooming in May off FS Road 23, Carson National Forest

We have several species of Penstemon growing in our area. Some also have the common name of Beardtongue because of the long, hairy tongue that sticks out from the throat of the flower. This Penstemon grows to 14 inches high with many narrow lance-shaped leaves. Flowers and buds are very sticky and hairy and grow on one side of the stem. The flowers are lavender to violet with dark purple nectar guide lines. They are about ½ inch long with a wide, densely hairy throat and a curved tongue covered in yellow hairs extending from the throat. Traditionally the plant was used as an emetic and lotion to purify a newborn infant before nursing and a cold, compound infusion of plant was taken for headache and sore throat. 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.   

The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Found in piñon-juniper and Ponderosa woodlands
Seen blooming in May in Red Wash Canyon
​
This is one of several species of Indian Paintbrush that grow in our area. Orange Paintbrush can grow to 20 inches tall, typically less, with long, purplish-green, rolled leaves and hairy stems. What appears to be flowers, the paintbrush, are actually modified leaves, bracts. The flowers are a narrow, greenish tube protruding beyond the bracts. The flower heads are red to orange to salmon. Native Americans found different uses for the plant; root bark was used with minerals to color deer skin black, dried bracts were mixed with chile seeds to prevent spoilage during storage, the plant was held by women for decoration during the harvest dance, a poultice of leaves was used to dress burns, a decoction of the leaf was taken during pregnancy to keep the baby small, for easy labor. Source. Read more about the Legend and Uses of Indian Paintbrush.

​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.