Common names: FIDDLENECK Arizona desert: (_Amsinckia intermedia_). Yellow. Spring. California desert: (_Amsinckia tessellata_). Yellow. Spring. Borage family. Size: Bristly erect herbs, 8 to 18 inches. An annual of the Creosotebush belt, and very abundant on gravelly or sandy soils in dry, open places, Fiddleneck is found from western New Mexico to California and north to eastern Washington. _A. tessellata_ occurs also in Chile and Argentina. Plants are reported to make good spring forage where they grow in heavy stands, but indications have been found that cirrhosis of the liver may result in cattle, sheep and horses that eat the nutlets. Following moist winters, Fiddleneck is often so abundant as to form vast fields of yellow or orange-yellow blossoms, especially on the Mohave Desert in southern California. The curling habit of the opening flower heads somewhat resembles the neck of a violin, hence the name. YELLOW [Illustration: Flourensia cernua] Common names: TARBUSH, VARNISHBUSH Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Flourensia cernua_). Yellow. July-December. Sunflower family. Size: A small shrub 3 feet, occasionally 6 or 7 feet high. These resinous, much-branched, perennial shrubs are found on plains and mesas at elevations around 4,000 feet from western Texas to eastern Arizona and south into Mexico. The yellow, nodding flower heads are small, and the leaves have a hop-like odor and a bitter flavor unpalatable to cattle. In northern Mexico the leaves and dried flower heads are sold in the drug markets under the name of _hojase_, recommended, in the form of a brew, as a remedy for indigestion. YELLOW [Illustration: Prosopis pubescens Prosopis juliflora] Common names: MESQUITE, HONEY MESQUITE Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Prosopis juliflora_). Yellow. April-June. Pea family. Size: Tree 15 to 25, rarely 30 feet high. Mesquite (mess-KEET) is one of the commonest and most widespread of desert trees, often growing in extensive thickets. It occurs at elevations below 5,000 feet, usually along streams, desert washes, or in locations where the water table is relatively high, from Kansas to California and south into Mexico. Roots are reported to penetrate to a depth of 60 feet with more wood below ground than above. In some parts of the desert, blowing sand settles around Mesquite clumps forming hummocks through which rodents tunnel. The numerous branches are armed with sturdy, straight thorns. In the spring when covered with bright green leaves and laden with catkin-like clusters of greenish-yellow flowers, Mesquite is a particularly handsome shrub or tree. Blossoms are fragrant and attract myriads of insects, including Honeybees.