Escscholtzia californica Cham. subsp. mexicana (Greene) C.Clark

A common plant of the low desert in Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas, forming spectacular carpets in wet years.

Plant habit at the Sierra Vista Trailhead, west bajada of the Organ Mountains, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, 13 Mar 2010.

A flower at the Sierra Vista Trailhead, 13 Mar 2010.

Closer view of a flower at the Sierra Vista Trailhead, 13 Mar 2010.

An opening flower, with the petals pushing off the deciduous sepals, which are fused into a cap, Sierra Vista Trailhead, 13 Mar 2010.

Basal rosette, Sierra Vista Trailhead, 13 Mar 2010.

Plant habit, Mockingbird Gap between the San Andres Mountains and the Oscura Mountains, Socorro County, New Mexico, 25 May 2010.

Flowers in Mockingbird Gap, 25 May 2010.

Plant habit along Soledad Canyon Road, west bajada of the Organ Mountains, 22 Jan 2005.