Flowers that Bloom Where There is no Garden

Flowers That Bloom Where There Is No Garden Arizona Desert Areas Are Carpeted With Spring Blossoms

Sun-up the next morning, though they rarely last beyond 9 or 10 o'clock. But the beauty of the flower and the witchery of the exotic perfume is reward enough for the individual who seeks them out. The plants usually grow in washes or protected places and are frequently hidden in or near other desert growth so that it takes patience and perseverence to find them out. Fortunately for those who are timid of the desert after night, there are many specimens in private gardens where they may be viewed less hazardously. But wherever they are, they are worth seeing. While the night blooming cereus is the most beautiful of the cactus, the king of them all is the giant saguaro which abounds in nearly all portions of the deserts of the greater part of Arizona. In some sections there are "forests" of the giants. They grow in many grotesque shapes, having arm-like protuberances which may point in every direction, giving the cactus unusual character. The blossoms, which burst open in May or June are rich, waxywhite and the fruit is a rich deep red. The Papago and Pima Indians regard the fruit as a great delicacy and go in numbers to gather it when it ripens. From it they make a delicious jam and a delectable wine.

An unforgetable picture appears along almost any desert road where there are giant cactus, if the moon is high for it is then that they seem most like "sentinels of the night" guarding the little folk who live close by.

Once having seen the delicate wax-white flower of "Reina de Noche", and smelled its intoxicating perfume, one cannot help knowing why it is called "Queen of the Night". There is a strange contrast between the dead, brittle looking plant and the superbly molded blossoms of this desert dweller. And the small, dry, dead looking plant guards its blossoms as a jealous husband would hide the glamorous beauty of his wife.

The night blooming cereus, or to give it its scientific name, Cereus serpentinus, a picture of which appears on the front cover page of this month's ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, opens its flowers only after dark, about 9 o'clock in the evening, and the date is any time from the middle to the 25th of June. Sometimes the blossoms stay open until after The cholla cactus is the Peck's Bad Boy of the desert. It is quietly lovely to look at from a distance but nearly all of the many varieties of the cholla are covered with innumerable spines both large and small which easily detach from the plant and seem literally to "jump" at their victim as he approaches. This is so true of one particular branch of the cholla family that it is familiarly called "jumping cactus" and rarely goes by any other name. The flowers of this family vary in color but all burst forth in the late spring.

Another curiosity of the desert is the ocatillo, sometimes called coach-whip cactus, Jacob's staff or candle flower, the last name seeming to best suit its peculiar qualities. It grows many stalks from a central root, each long and thin and nearly straight with many large spines running spirally up the stem which also has small very green leaves. Each stalk is tipped, at blossoming time, with a flaming red flower, several inches long. It is an impressive sight to see a forest of ocatillo in bloom in the spring!

and thin and nearly straight with many large spines running spirally up the stem which also has small very green leaves. Each stalk is tipped, at blossoming time, with a flaming red flower, several inches long. It is an impressive sight to see a forest of ocatillo in bloom in the spring!

The barrel or bisnaga cactus which is found in many parts of the desert is one which every traveler should learn to know. For if a barrel cactus is in the neighborhood, one need never perish from thirst. It is well known that if the top be cut from a barrel cactus and the pulp crushed a little, a cup or more of water will form in the depression which can be dipped up and drunk. The cactus is well named, resembling nothing so much, especially in its early years, as a small barrel. Its flowers vary in color from a deep red to a light orange-red and are a delightful splash of color in the springtime.

These are by no means all the cactus which grows on the desert. There are, in fact, so many kinds and varieties that a book would hardly suffice to tell their stories. Many of them are blossoming now.

Nor are these strange plants all that grow on the desert. There is the very tiny flowering vegetation which, in spring, especially after a rain, carpets the whole desert floor in the gayest patterns; and then, there are the pungent "greasewood" bushes or creosote plants, with their lacy leaves and tiny yellow flowers. And everywhere is the palo verde the "green tree" of the desert. Of the palo verde, there are several different kinds, but all are sprinkled with yellow buttercups in the springtime. And if you want to believe in fairies watch them dance in the branches of a palo verde in the moonlight!

The desert lands of Arizona are in flower this month. On the opposite page, No. 1, the Barrel Cactus; No. 2, blossom of the Prickly Pear; No. 3, Ocatillo bloom; No. 4, the blossom of the Buckhorn; No. 5, Devil's Pin-Cushion in bloom; No. 6, silhouette of a blooming Palo Verde; No. 7, blossom of the Saguaro, state flower of Arizona; No. 8, the Buckhorn and a cluster of blossoms; No. 9, Cholla; No. 10, Hedge Hog cactus blossom; No. 11, the blossom of the Barrel Cactus; No. 12, Creosote Bush (miscalled "Greasewood") in bloom; No. 13, blossom of the Ironwood tree.

APRIL, 1934