Golden Desert Snapdragon
Mohavea breviflora
Color: Yellow
Common name: Golden Desert Snapdragon
Latin name: Mohavea breviflora
Family: SCROPHULARIACEAE
Height: 2-8 inches
Description: It is a hairy annual herb growing erect to a maximum height near 20 centimeters. Flowers occur in the leaf axils. They are about 2 centimeters wide and divided into an upper lip with two lobes and a swollen lower lip with three. The flower is yellow with scattered red speckles.
Leaf: The alternately arranged leaves are lance-shaped.
Range: n&e Mojave Desert
Habitat: Gravelly desert slopes, washes
Elevation: 100–1400 m.
Flowering time: Mar–Apr
Notes: Mohavea breviflora, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. This photo was taken on February 11, 2006 in Jubilee Pass, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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