[Illustration: Zinnia pumila]
Common Names: WILD-ZINNIA
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Zinnia pumila_). Pale yellow.
April-October.
Sunflower family. Size: Low, dense-growing perennials in rounded
clumps, 4 to 8 inches high.
Closely related to the garden Zinnia, which is a native of Mexico,
desert Zinnias are attractive herbs suitable for trial as ornamental
border plantings.
_Z. pumila_ prefers caliche soils and is found on dry mesas and slopes
from Texas westward to southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It is often
found blossoming in association with the Paperflower (_Psilostrophe
cooperi_) which it superficially resembles. The pale yellow flowers of
the Wild-zinnia turn white with age.
_Z. pumila_ may be easily recognized by the single heavy rib running the
length of each narrow leaf.