Frequently snowbirding in the Mesquite area, and being a bit compulsive, I've prepared this list to help in understanding the plants along the trails where we ride. These are the herbaceous plants of the Mojave area where we ride and is based upon the book Native Plants of Southern Nevada: an Ethnobotany by David Rhode.
Herbaceous Plants:
Desert Plants: Succulents | Cacti | Lg. Shrubs | Sm. Shrubs | Herbaceous | Trees
Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) [S Paiute: "chew-pahn-iv," tcupani, "ch'ponip"]:
Annual Turtleback (Psathyrotes annua) [S Paiute: sebu magoonobu]:
Velvet Turtleback (Psathyrotes ramosissima) [S Paiute: sebu magoonobu]:
Desert Trumpet (Eriogonum inflatum) [S Paiute: "papa karum(p)"]:
Also known as "Desert Spoon," it is very distinctive and fairly prevalent in the Mojave Desert. It grows 8 - 32 inches tall, has rounded silver-green leaves at the base and several bare, green, tubular stems with bulbous segments. After flowering with tiny yellow spring and fall flowers, the stem becomes red-brown, hard and brittle. It prefers calcareous soils in creosote, blackbrush, saltbush and sagebrush.
Fresh and young stems were eaten raw, roots and seeds needed preparation. Dried stems were used to smoke tobacco and as children's toys. Tiny black seed-like insect droppings found on the plant reportedly were "hallucinogenic."
Transmontane Sand Verbena (Abronia turbinata) [S Paiute: "ayaho"]:
Desert Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa) [S Paiute: "ayaho"]:
Evening Primrose (Oenothera) [S Paiute: "nac-a-go-av"]:
Thornapple (Datura wrightii) [S Paiute: momomp, momompi, mimip, "main-pph-weep"]:
Desert Tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia) [S Paiute: sagwog-woapi, "sawak wape," ko-a-pe"]:
Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata) [S Paiute: sagwog-woapi, "sawak wape," ko-a-pe"]:
Desert Milkweed (Asclepias erosa) [Paiute: "wishe-veu-eup," "kuts-a-hon-i-pea"]:
Mexican Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias fuscicularis) [S Paiute: "wishe-veu-eup," "kuts-a-hon-i-pea"]:
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) [S Paiute: "wishe-veu-eup," "kuts-a-hon-i-pea"]:
Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) [S Paiute: w'ivi, wo iv]:
Wooly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa) [S Paiute: wiciva]:
Entireleaved Theolypody (Thelypodium intergrifolium)[S Paiute: nambitu, "na-bita"]:
Desert Rockcress (Arabis pulchra)[S Paiute: ak, akh]:
Tansy Mustard (Descurainia pinnata)[S Paiute: ku'u, akh'; ak, aka vu; akive]:
Heartleaf Twistflower (Streptanthus cordatus):
Chia (Salvia columbariae) [S Paiute: pasiits]:
Whitestem Blazingstar (Mentzelia albicaulis) [S Paiute: "ko-ka"]:
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) [S Paiute: "tho-wa-wi-ve"]:
Desert Larkspur (Delphinium parishii) [Paiute: "coh-hava"]:
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia) [S Paiute: anabimotoymup, "inip-ma-tho-rup"]:
Desert Broomrape (Orobanche cooperi) [S Paiute: tu'u, du'u]:
Clustered Broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata) [S Paiute: tu'u, du'u]:
Mojave Woodyaster (Xylorhiza tortifolia):
New Mexico Thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum) [S Paiute: "chuva," "chia wugu"]:
Mojave Thistle (Cirsium mohavense) [S Paiute: "chuva," "chia wugu"]:
Mojave Prickly Poppy (Argenmone corymbosa) [S Paiute: "tu-ve-kai-ve"]:
Flatbud Prickly Poppy (Argemone munita) [S Paiute: "tu-ve-kai-ve"]:
Whitemargin Sandmat (Chamaesyce albomarginata) [S Paiute: axghaiv, tuvikaxghaiv, "tubicai"]:
Prairie Flax (Linum lewisii) [Paiute: "poohi natesua"]:
Goosefoot (Chenopodium) [S Paiute: "koar," "war," kovi, wara]:
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) [Paiute: "te-na-e-nupe"]:
Willow Dock (Rumex salicifolius) [S Paiute: nambitu, kwivavi]:
Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) [S Paiute: toxo'awatsip, toxopui'bimp]:
Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) [S Paiute: toxo'awatsip, toxopui'bimp]:
Skyrocket Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) [S Paiute: "shovia navayuna," anka'si'nti]:
Longleaf Phlox (Phlox longifolia) [Paiute: "paga gibe"]:
Crimson Columbine (AQuilegia formosa) [S Paiute: pawihani sinkadi, toha'ama'abi]:
Desert Plants: Succulents | Cacti | Lg. Shrubs | Sm. Shrubs | Herbaceous | Trees