Plants from the stop on day one near the Granite Mountains:

• A species of Phacelia with pretty cool photoactive compounds. If you touch the plant and then are exposed to the sun, you get a wicked rash. I refrained from touching it.

• I was really excited about Isomeris arborea, which is a member of the caper family. It had very tasty flower buds. The seed pods were a bit too spicy for me though!

• The popcorn flower is a really cute member of the borage family.

• We also ran across at least one species of Camissonia from the evening primrose family. Most people are more familiar with the non-desert genera of this family, like fushias. I couldn’t find a picture of the one we saw, so you’ll just have to trek out there and have a look yourself.