Common name: OLEANDER Arizona, California, and Texas deserts. (_Nerium oleander_). White, yellow, or red. Spring and summer. Dogbane family. Size: Robust, spreading shrub up to 20 feet high. Well known and widely grown because of its large clusters of red or white blossoms and glossy, evergreen leaves, the Oleander is one of the handsomest shrubs found under cultivation in towns and cities of the desert. Requiring sub-tropical conditions, easily rooted from cuttings, and rapid in growth, the Oleander thrives in Southwestern desert areas if supplied with plenty of water. It is used individually and as hedgerows in ornamental plantings. Although blossoms may be present at almost any time of year, the principal flowering season extends from early spring well through the summer. Both the red-flowered and the white-flowered plants are popular and may be grown separately or intermixed. Recently a yellow-flowered form has come into use. These handsome shrubs immediately attract the attention of northerners visiting desert towns, and arouse their curiosity as to their identity. WHITE [Illustration: Nemacladus glanduliferus] Common name: THREADPLANT Arizona desert. (_Nemacladus glanduliferus_). Purple-white. March-May. California desert. (_Nemacladus rigidus_). Purple-white. March-May. Bellflower family. Size: 2 to 12 inches tall. The tiny, slender-stemmed, profusely-branched Threadplant is so small that it is completely overlooked by the majority of visitors to the Southwest, yet it is one of the most common and most attractive of desert flowers. Under a magnifying glass, the shape and coloring of the minute, delicate flowers make them appear as beautiful as orchids. The white flowers are touched with tints of red, brown, yellow, or purple. Plants are abundant below 1,800 feet elevation on dry, gravelly or rocky soils, frequently along the shoulders of highways from Nevada throughout western Arizona and southern California to Lower California. Be on the lookout for this small but interesting and beautiful plant. WHITE [Illustration: Cuscuta indecora] Common name: DODDER Arizona and Texas deserts. (_Cuscuta indecora_). White. July-August. California desert. (_Cuscuta denticulata_). Pale yellow. July-August. Convolvulus family. Size: Vine-like, covering host plant. Rootless, leafless, and with pale yellow to brownish stems which twine in vine-like embrace about the host, the parasitic Dodders are immediately noticeable because of their strange appearance.