Sonoran Desert Naturalist >>> Field Guide >>> Sonoran Desert Flora >>> Ranunculaceae

Sonoran Desert Buttercups

Annual or perennial Herbs. Also vines. Flowers with sepals and petals not clearly distinguishable. Five-merous common. Fruit a compound of several to many ovaries. Mostly not very common in the Sonoran Desert. Several species.

Desert Windflower

Anemone tuberosa

Yellow Columbine

Aquilegia chrysantha

Photo © by Mike Plagens

Perennial herb of spring growing on rocky slopes at mid to higher elevations in the Sonoran Desert. Showy white flowers with numerous pistils and stamens.   Detailed Description

Photo © by Mike Plagens

Perennial herb restricted to damp, shady springs. Large yellow flowers with conspicuous spurs at base of petals. Compound leaves.   Detailed Description

Virgin's Bower

Clematis drummondii

Desert Larkspur

Delphinium parishii

Photo © by Mike Plagens

Vine growing mostly along major washes or riparian habitats at mid to upper elevations in the Sonoran Desert. Flowers not showy. Long plumose styles of achene seeds become conspicuous in autumn through winter. Detailed Description

Photo © by Mike Plagens

Perenial, herbaceous above ground, with tall slender spikes of blue, bilaterally symetrical flowers. Flowers in mid to late spring. Detailed Description


Sonoran Desert Places


Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2014