Restricted in its range to the region in which Utah, Arizona, and Nevada meet, the “giant sunray,” as it is sometimes called, is spectacular rather than beautiful. Coarse and weedy, the large clusters of silvery leaves and long stemmed, sunflower-like blossoms that appear from April to June invariably attract attention and stimulate curiosity. An even larger species, _Enceliopsis covillei_, with blossoms up to 6 inches in diameter, is found in canyons on the west side of the Panamint Mountains in California.
_Enceliopsis argophylla_ Sunflower Family
Although it is reported from elevations up to 7,000 feet, golden crown-beard is usually found at much lower levels from Kansas south to Texas, California, and northern Mexico. Sometimes growing in clusters, single plants are also common as a weed of roadsides and waste ground. The all-yellow, sunflower-like blossoms are widespread in the desert from April to November. Desert Indians and early pioneers are said to have used the plant to treat boils and skin diseases. The Hopis soaked the plants in water in which they bathed, to relieve the pain of insect bites.
Also called “tickseed,” wild coreopsis is closely related to cultivated ornamentals of the same name. The desert species inhabits open locations at elevations between 1,500 and 2,500 feet in southern Arizona, southern California, and Baja California. Plants usually bloom between February and May. The closely related _Coreopsis bigelovii_ is a southern California annual having somewhat larger flowers, up to 2 inches in diameter, with orange centers. Flower stems are naked, with the leaves clustered at their bases.
At its best in sandy desert soil, paperflower is a compact, shrubby plant about 1 foot high, with tangled branches. When fully developed it is symmetrically globular in outline. It prefers mesas and desert plains at elevations between 2,000 and 5,000 feet from western New Mexico to southern California and northern Mexico, flowering throughout the year but most abundantly in springtime. Sometimes called “paper-daisy,” the flowers are persistent, fading to straw color and turning papery with age. They may remain on the stems for weeks.
Commonly called “desert marigold,” baileya blossoms in all seasons, most heavily from March to November, and is one of the better known flowers of the Southwest. Each circular blossom occupies the tip of a foot-high stem. Plants usually have a thrifty, garden-variety appearance. They are common along roadsides and on well-drained, gravelly slopes up to 5,000 feet from west Texas to southeastern California and Chihuahua. The large flower heads are showy and the species is cultivated in California. Cases are on record of sheep and goats on overgrazed ranges being poisoned by eating this plant.