There are 30 species of Dalea found in Arizona, many of which are the the nursery trade because they are so doggone pretty. How cool is that? Very.
Dalea formosa can be found in many different plant communities around Arizona , New Mexico. West Texas and southward. It sure seems to like rocky rubble wherever it is and the gravelly plain at the base of the Dragoon Mountain, where I love to poke around, fits the bill.
The yellow banner on the beautiful pea-like flowers (papilionaceous!) does change to purple (joining the purple keel and wings) as it ages and it may well be a sign that says “sold out.”
The photos are mine and taken in the area described in this episode.
The common name of Calylophus hartwegii is Sundrops. That’s considerably easier to say and I suspect that the common name covers a few species...
Monkey flowers are in the Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae). The species I’m jabbering about in this show is called seep monkey flower or Mimulus guttatus....
When the Mesquitey family lived near Tucson I worked in a crazy wonderful nursery that was at the base of A-Mountain (Sentinel Peak) right...