Semi-desert. Shrublands, sand. Spring, summer.
Arches National Park, Utah, May 4, 2005.

Sophora stenophylla sends out underground roots and colonizes large areas, so although it is not a common plant, it is easy to spot when it is around.  Tall stalks of handsome blue/purple flowers surmount 4-16 inch tall cushions of silvery-green, finely cut leaves.  Sophora stenophylla is a perennial so one can revisit this beauty each year at the same spot, as we have done a number of times in Arches at the junction of the main road and the Delicate Arch road. 

According to Intermountain Flora, "sophora" is from the Arabic "sofera", a plant with yellow flowers.  Linnaeus, who named this plant in 1753, "arbitrarily" used this name.  "Stenophylla" is Greek for "narrow leaves".

John Newberry collected this for science in Arizona in 1858 and Asa Gray named and described the plant in 1861.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sand. Spring, summer.
Arches National Park, Utah, May 4, 2005.

Petals often curl.