The showy flowers, which are large enough to attract attention, are relatively few. Even more spectacular are the large, black, woody pods ending in two curved, prong-like appendages that hook about the fetlocks of burros or the fleece of sheep, thereby carrying the pod away from the mother plant and scattering the seeds. Young pods are sometimes eaten by desert Indians as a vegetable, and the mature fruits are gathered by the Pima and Papago Indians, who strip off the black outer covering and use it in weaving designs into basketry. Blossoms of the small-flowered species are reddish purple to white streaked with orange and yellow, while the large-flowered species have coppery yellow blossoms, the throat spotted with purple and the edge of the cup streaked with orange. COPPERY [Illustration: Hymenoclea monogyra] Common names: BURROBUSH, CHEESEWEED Arizona and California deserts: (_Hymenoclea salsola_). Silvery red. March-April. Texas-New Mexico deserts: (_Hymenoclea monogyra_). Silvery red. September. Sunflower family. Size: Much-branched shrub, 2 to 3 feet tall. Burrobush is another of the common desert shrubs whose fruits are much more conspicuous than the blossoms. The shrub itself is bright green in color, and somewhat resembles the common Russian-thistle. It is widespread, and abundant in sandy washes, where it tends to form thickets. In some localities it is called “Cheeseweed” because of the cheesy odor of the crushed foliage. It occurs throughout the Southwest at elevations below 4,000 feet, from western Texas to southern California and northern Mexico. RED [Illustration: Fouquieria splendens] Common names: OCOTILLO, SLIMWOOD, COACHWHIP, CANDLEWOOD, FLAMINGSWORD Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Fouquieria splendens_). Bright red. April-May. Ocotillo family. Size: Up to 15 feet tall. One of the few flower families restricted to the desert, the unique Ocotillo (oh-koh-TEE-oh) with its long, unbranching stems is found on rocky hillsides below 5,000 feet from western Texas to southern California and south into Mexico. It is one of the commonest, queerest, and most spectacular of desert plants, especially when the tips of its long, slender stems seem afire with dense clusters of bright red blossoms. Following rains, leaves clothe the thorny stems with green, but after the soil becomes dry, the leaves turn brown and fall. The heavily thorned stems are covered with green bark which takes over the functions of leaves during periods of drought. The plant thus becomes semi-dormant during hot dry periods and, in sections of the desert visited by showers, may go through this cycle several times during a year.