Starflower (Gilia sp.).
The large, round, green and spiky fruit of the Wild Cucumber (Marah gilensis). Also known as Gila Manroot. the wild cucumber is usually seen climb over and through other desert shrubs and brush.
Brittlebush dot the hills and cliffs with splashes of yellow as seen from the Second Water Trail.
Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) nestled next to an agave.
Cliffs soar above a Saguaro studded hillside with Chainfruit Cholla in the foreground.
The flower of Silverpuffs (Microseris linearifolia) is followed by a large silver seedhead (as pictured in a following photo).
Purple Owl's Clover (Castilleja exserta)).
Amsonia (Amsonia hirtella).
The silver seedhead of Silverpuffs (Microseris linearifolia).
Brittlebush and cholla cover a hillside beneath a cliff.
On this day the bright yellow flowers of the Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) were covering the hills and slopes in the Superstition Wilderness.
The orange of the poppies contrast with the purple of the scorpionweed.
Desert-Chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana).
A rock outcropping tops a hillside covered with wildflowers: brittlebush, scorpionweed, poppies, desert chicory, owl's clover, and ocotillo.
From the Second Water Trail we hop onto the Black Mesa Trail which heads southeasterly on a gradual climb up to Black Mesa. On the lower and open area of the Black Mesa Trail we find a few Desert Marigolds (Baileya multiradiata).
A view looking to the northwest over Garden Valley to the hills beyond from the Black Mesa Trail.
An old Saguaro skeleton stands over a patch of brittlebush.
The southwest facing hillside on along the Black Mesa Trail are fantastically covered with the yellow of brittlebush, while the northeast facing slopes are practically void of any brittlebush.
A Saguaro towers above a sea of brittlebush.
A member of the pea family, Coulter's Lupine (Lupinus sparsiflorus) produces seeds in "pea pods" after flowering.
A saguaro and cholla studded hillside set aglow with the yellow of brittlebush.
Another view of the brittlebush covered hillside from the Black Mesa Trail.
Here we have soft pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) flowers. The flowers vary in color from pink to white. (See next photo.)
What you see of the Fair Duster flower is actually clusters of unusually long stamens, not petals. As compared to the previous photo these flowers (stamens) are white tipped with pink.
Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) on the Black Mesa Trail.
As the Black Mesa Trail tops out on Black Mesa, Weavers Needle comes into view.
Christmas Cholla (Opuntia leptocaulis) shows off its bright red fruit and long, straight spines.
Weavers Needle towers over a foreground of cholla just before the Black Mesa Trail makes a descent off the mesa and down into Boulder Basin.
Goldfields (Lasthenia chrysostoma).
Another saguaro studded hill covered in brittlebush.
Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum).
Desert Phlox (Phlox tenuifolia).
Closeup of Desert Phlox (Phlox tenuifolia).
The Black Mesa Trail descends into Boulder Basin with Weavers Needle towering above the landscape.
Weavers Needle towers over Palomino Mountain in this view from Black Mesa Trail.
Tidytips (Layia glandulosa).
The Black Mesa Trail ends at the Dutchman's Trail in Boulder Basin. Here we find a thick carpet of Goldfields (Lasthenia chrysostoma) covering the desrt floor.
Goldfields (Lasthenia chrysostoma) create a thick carpet of gold in Boulder Basin.
Goldfields (Lasthenia chrysostoma) create a thick carpet of gold in Boulder Basin.
A thin spiralled tendril of Wild Cucumber (Marah gilensis).
Goldfields color the desert floor in this scene from along the Dutchman's Trail.
This bud of a New Mexico Thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum) will soon bust into a purple-pink flowerhead.
New Mexico Thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum) flower partially opened.
New Mexico Thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum) flower fully opened.
Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.).
Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.).
Brittlebush colors a desert hillside in brillant yellow.
As the Dutchman's Trail descends from Parker Pass it passes a series of volcanic outcroppings.
Globemallow (Sphaeralcea sp.).
An algae filled pool in First Water Creek alongside the Dutchman's Trail with Common Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus) blooming on the opposite bank.
Spiny Cliff Brake (Pellaea truncata) is a member of the fern family.