Scientific Name:  Dalea purpurea Prairie purple clover flower close up (Dalea purpurea). Photo by Janice Tucker Common name: purple prairie clover Plant Family:  Fabaceae (bean) Article and photos by Janice Tucker The color purple arrived on the scene when [...]

Scientific name: Anemopsis californica Synonyms: A. californica var. subglabra Close-up of bloom, stem and leaves of yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica) at Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve by Janice Tucker. Common names: lizard’s tail, yerba mansa Family: Saururaceae (common name: Lizard’s tail) [...]

For this month's "Plant of the Month" article, we'll be taking a closer look at a fascinating community of organisms that are living closely with plants throughout the ecosystem, however often overlooked - lichens. The following article describes how all [...]

Scientific name: Amelanchier utahensis Common name: Utah serviceberry Plant Family:  Rosaceae - rose Text by Janice Tucker. Photographs by Janice Tucker, Tony Frates and David Salman A. Utahensis in Salt lake County Utah courtesy of SEINet Arizona New Mexico [...]

Scientific name: Zinnia grandiflora Synonym: Crassina grandiflora Common names: prairie zinnia, golden eye, plains zinnia, little golden zinnia, Rocky Mountain zinnia, yellow zinnia Family: Asteraceae (Compositae) Article by Jeanne Gozigian Zinnia grandiflora flower (Photo credit: Janice Tucker) We recently moved [...]

Scientific classification (Division): Bryophyta Common name: Mosses Article by Susan Bruneni Scientific Name: Warnstorfia exannulata (Schimp.) LoeskePhotographer: Biopix: JC Schou. Bryophyte, is the traditional name for any nonvascular seedless plant—namely, any of the mosses (division Bryophyta), hornworts (division [...]

Scientific Name:  Stanleya pinnata Common Name:  prince’s plume, desert prince’s plume Plant Family:  Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae)/mustard Text by Janice Tucker Photos:  Al Schneider, Carl Troy, Janice Tucker Photo © Al Schneider swcoloradowildflowers.com Nature is tough. Since the beginning [...]

Scientific name: Oryzopsis hymenoides Synonyms: Achnatherum hymenoides, Stipa hymenoides Common names: Indian ricegrass, mountain ricegrass, arroz indio in Spanish, Indian millet Family: Poaceae *FYI: There is an ongoing debate among taxonomists as to which is the accepted scientific name. Time will tell. by Jeanne Gozigian Indian [...]

Scientific name: Allium macropetalum Common name: Desert onion, wild onion Family: Amaryllidaceae (formerly classified as Liliaceae) Article by Susan Bruneni Allium macropetalum by Al Schneider. Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.BLM lands south of Bloomfield, New Mexico, April 23, 2007. © Al Schneider [...]

Scientific name: Helianthus maximiliani Common name: Maximilian sunflower Family: Asteraceae / Compositae - aster/composite Plant Zones 3 - 9 Text by Janice Tucker.  Photos by Janice Tucker and Sonny Tucker Maximillian sunflower in full bloom (Photo: Janice Tucker) [...]

Scientific name: Scabrethia scabra Common name: mule’s ears Other plants mentioned: Wyethia arizonica and other species Family: Asteraceae Article by Jeanne Gozigian Scabrethia scabra (Photo: Cristina Salvador) I first met mule’s ears at my daughter and son-in-law’s property, [...]