WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Thin stems reach 8-inches tall and branch from near the base with delicate yellow flowers with a dark maroon center. Petals fade and fall by afternoon. Note the minute gray hairs that cover the stems.

FLOWERS: May–July. 4 yellow to orange petals, 3/8–5/8-inch (10–15 mm) long with a red base; styles are united to near the tip, sepals (below petals) 1/4-inch long (5–7 mm), lance-shaped, covered with short hairs and lined with minute glandular teeth (use lens).

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades narrow, linear, 3/16–3/4-inch long (5–20 mm), margins entire.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly soils; desert scrublands and grasslands, pinyon-juniper, ponderosa woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,300–8,200 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CA, CO, NE, NM, NV, TX, UT, WY.

SIMILAR SPECIES: 13 species of yellow flax in NM, many with only minute differences, but all others have hairless stems. Chihuahua Flax, L. vernale, in cent. and so. NM, also has a yellow flower with a maroon base but has hairless stems. Bristle Flax, L. aristatum, statewide, favors deep sand, has flowers with faint red stripes at the throat, and branches from near the base. Southern Flax, L. australe, statewide, has flowers without a maroon base and branches from about half-way up the stem.

NM COUNTIES: Statewide in low- to mid-elevation, arid habitats.