Showy, 1-inch wide purple flowers cover this low plant with sprawling stems that reach 18-inches long. Note the seed pods are conical and tapering like a bird’s bill.

FLOWER: February–April. Lavender to purple flowers have 5 rounded petals each 3/8–inch long accented with a darker center and bright yellow stamens. The fruit develop into seed pods with long, slender beaks that resemble a stork’s bill.

LEAVES: Basal, alternate to opposite on stem. Leaves with reddish stems (petioles) have wrinkled, heart-shaped to rounded blades to 1 3/8-inches long, with margins cut into numerous shallow, pointed lobes.

HABITAT: Rocky, sandy limestone, igneous soils of fields, roadsides, disturbed areas; desert scrublands.

ELEVATION: 3,100–5,500 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CA, NV, NM, OK, TX, UT.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The introduced and naturalized nationwide, Filaree, E. cicutarium, (see photo) has much smaller flowers and dissected, parsley-like leaves .

NM COUNTIES: Scattered in the southern half of NM in low-elevation, dry habitats: Chaves, Dona Ana, Eddy, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Sierra, Socorro.