When we first moved out to Cochise County we were so lucky to have a few springs with abundant Mexican poppy (Eschscholzia mexicana) displays. Distant hills and nearby fields glowed golden with a kazillion blooming poppies. Over the years, dry winters made those floriferous springs less common, but in 2020 there was an incredible wildflower display all around us. I remember standing out in some rolling hills at the base of the Pinaleño Mountains and shouting out plant names…well, at least the ones I could remember… it was that day we saw creamcups (or cream cups, your choice) in the wildflower mix. We even came across some pure stands of Platystemon californicus. Yay! 
Oh for goodness sake, I forgot to mention that creamcups’ flowers are white, but the photos show that! Now you know.
Anyway, here’s hoping we get a floriferous spring thanks to winter rain and snow.
The photos are mine.
Well shoot, I spent so much time jabbering about my conversion to desert rat and monsoon believer that I left some stuff out. So...
The botanical name for the southwest white pine of this episode is Pinus strobiformis. I read that specific epithet stobiformis comes from the Greek...
There is only one species of Marah in Arizona, but there seven species in North America and all in are found in the west...