[Illustration: Psilostrophe cooperi]
Common name: PAPERFLOWER
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Psilostrophe cooperi_). Bright yellow.
Year around.
Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Psilostrophe sparsiflora_). Bright yellow.
May-September.
Sunflower family. Size: Rounded bush 12 to 18 inches high.
One man of the writer’s acquaintance, confused by the great number of
yellow flowers on the desert, refers to them all as “yellow composites.”
The Paperflower is one of these.
It is noticeable because of the conspicuous, bright yellow flowers which
sometimes cover the plants almost completely, often during periods of
the year when bloom is quite scarce on the desert.
The flowers are persistent, petals become papery, fade to a pale yellow,
and remain on the plants intact for weeks.
Although the Paperflower does not form great masses of color, the
blossom-covered clumps are conspicuous among the Cactus, Mesquite, and
Creosotebush of the desert.
It is common at elevations below 5,000 feet from southern Utah to Lower
California, with similar species ranging eastward through southern New
Mexico and northern Chihuahua.
Some species are reported to be poisonous to sheep.