C ACTUS AND GKEASE-WOOD 



147 



eastern violet. And down in Sonora one is daz- 

 zled by the splendor of the guyacan (or gual- 

 lacan) which throws ont blossoms half-blue and 

 half-red. All the commoner growths like the 

 sage, the mesquite, the palo fierro, and the palo 

 bianco, are blossom bearers. In fact everything 

 that grows at all in the desert puts forth in sea- 

 son some bright little flag of color. In the 

 mass they make little show, but examined in 

 the part they are interesting because of their 

 nurture, their isolation, and their peculiarity 

 of form and color. The conditions of life have 

 perhaps contorted them, have paled or grayed 

 or flushed or made morbid their coloring ; but 

 they are all of them beautiful. Beautiful color 

 is usually unhealthy color as we have already 

 suggested. 



Besides the blossoms upon bush and tree 

 there is often a great display of wild flowers 

 following the spring rains. In the semi-desert 

 valleys of Southern California or upon the ele- 

 vated grease-wood plains that lie about Tucson 

 or Prescott one finds in season a wonderful pro- 

 fusion of small flowers — poppies, violets, lupines, 

 phacelias, penstemons. Sometimes beds of 

 these flowers extend for miles, spreading in va- 

 riegated sweeps of color, apparently undulating 



Many 

 varieties. 



WiU 



fimsert. 



