[Illustration: Enceliopsis argophylla]
Common name: SUNRAY
Arizona desert: (_Enceliopsis argophylla_). Bright yellow. April-June.
California desert: (_Enceliopsis covillei_). Lemon-yellow. April-June.
Sunflower family. Size: Perennial, 1 to 2½ feet tall.
The large, solitary, coarse flower heads with their yellow petals make
the Sunrays among the most impressive composites of the desert.
Flowers rise on stout stems above a luxuriant growth of leaves that make
the plants appear almost egotistical in their elegant arrogance.
They are at their best in sandy washes and on dry slopes at elevations
between 1,000 and 3,500 feet, often where other plants seem too hard
pressed eking out an existence to produce the garish foliage and bloom
achieved by the Sunray.