• The Nevada desert is home to a wide variety of wildflower species.desert plants image by Carol Tomalty from Fotolia.com
  
  Composed of mostly desert and semiarid regions such as those found in the Mojave Desert and the High Basin, Nevada is the driest state in the Union. Nevada's deserts receive on average just 3 to 4 inches of rainfall per year and can reach temperatures of over 120 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Despite these seemingly inhabitable conditions, many wildflower species grow in the Nevada desert. These flowers vary in color, size and growing habits.
  
  

Desert Lupine

• Common to the Mojave Desert region of southern Nevada, the desert lupine grows in desert meadows and mesas below 3,000 feet. With long, slender stems, the desert lupine produces bluish violet flowers that bloom between January and May each year. The desert lupine is a member of the pea family and relies mostly on bees for pollination. This flower is particularly common along roadsides throughout the deserts of Nevada, California and Arizona. Desert lupine is particularly abundant during years with above-average rainfall, though they are quite resilient in dry conditions as well. Like the flowers of other lupines, desert lupine flowers have two petals on the bottom and one on top. Its leaves are dark green and usually grouped into clusters of between five and 10 leaflets.
  
  

Mojave Aster

• A member of the sunflower family, the Mojave aster grows in Nevada on rocky cliffs and in sandy desert meadows at elevations between 2,000 and 5,500 feet. Its flowers are usually around 2 inches in diameter and are easily identifiable by their daisy-like lavender petals and yellow-orange center. The Mojave aster usually blooms in the spring between March and May, though they'll often bloom in the fall if there's enough rainfall. This flower can grow up to 30 inches tall and features hairy leaves at its base that are usually around 3 inches long. Mojave aster plants bear up to 30 flowers at a time. Small black caterpillars called desert checkerspots like to feed on the nectar of this flower and are especially common after precipitous winters.
  
  

Owl's Clover

• This erect annual flower is common throughout the deserts of Nevada and California and can grow over a foot tall. The owl's clover produces striking purple and fuchsia flowers with white tips that shoot up vertically from long narrow stems. This flower blooms between March and May and, like many desert wildflowers, is particularly abundant during wet years. The owl's clover is considered semiparasitic and hyrbridizes easily with other members of the castilleja species. The owl's clover belongs to the scrophulariaceae family, commonly referred to as the snapdragon or figwort family. Owl's clover will grow at elevations between 1,500 and 4,500 feet.