[Illustration: Dichelostemma pulchellum]
Common names: DESERT-HYACINTH, PAPAGOLILY, BLUEDICKS, COVENA,
GRASSNUTS
Arizona and California deserts: (_Dichelostemma pulchellum_). Light
blue. February-May.
Lily family. Size: About 1 foot high.
Very common and abundant in early spring, the pale blue to violet
flowers of this small, delicate perennial Lily are conspicuous on open
slopes and mesas. Found below 5,000 feet from southwestern New Mexico to
California and northward to Oregon, they are widely scattered over the
desert areas of the Southwest. Pima and Papago Indians ate the small
bulbs, as also did the early white settlers who named them Grassnuts.