DESERT WILDFLOWERS
Strictly speaking, a page describing flowers should include all of the Angiosperms, or "boxed seed" plants, meaning those plants whose seeds are enclosed in specialized ovaries, as opposed to the Gymnosperms, "naked seed" plants whose seeds lack ovaries). Angiosperms produce flowers that generate stamens and pistils. Economically speaking, the Angiosperms are the world's most important plants.
Most of this page will however concentrate on a subset of the Angiosperms: the so-called "Wildflowers" -- annual plants whose main above-ground growth dies at the end of the growing season and which generally lack woody stems. This means that most "shrubs" and "trees" -- from cacti and nolinas to acacias, mesquites, paloverdes et al -- are not included (except for the "Flowering Schedule" page below, which is a fairly comprehensive listing). . For more details on the flowerings of yuccas, cacti, our more substantial trees and shrubs, etc., see the other headings under "Flora". (We do however at present include some of the smaller perennial shrubs on this page, just for the sake of rugged inconsistency and the beauty their sightings do afford. Eventually we will move them over to a separate, linked page on small flowering shrubs.)
See the following pages for our detailed materials on Wildflowers:
The link below presents images of various flowering annuals (and a few perennials) we have identified on our lands:
Wildflowers on Saguaro Juniper Lands
The link below presents images of scenes from an organized walk done in a year of exceptional wildflowering (together with a list of species from that walk)::
The link below presents the chart indicating average flowering dates for a wide array of our common desert flowering plants, including not just flowering annuals but all kinds of Angiosperms (Monocots and Dicots):
(Note: the page linked below is rather large -- some 300 MB)
Sonoran Desert Flowering Schedule
The link below provides a (developing) summary of more general seasonal patterns that are specific to our Cascabel-San Pedro area:
The link below gives information on one flowering plant in our area that deserves special concern and consideration: