Semi-desert.  Rocky, sandy slopes.  Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, April 27, 2007.

Polygala subspinosa is rare to uncommon in Colorado and New Mexico and more common in Arizona and Utah.  It typically grows about five inches tall in an open, rounded form.  Woody stems persist but often the plant dies back to the ground; all of the growth shown in the photograph is from this year.  It grows at elevations from about 4,000 to 7,000 feet in dry, open areas. 

The genus was named by Linnaeus in 1753.  "Polygala" is Greek for "much milk" and was applied to some now unknown plant reputed to increase milk production in cattle.  The species was named by Sereno Watson in 1873 from a specimen collected by an unknown botanist in 1862.  "Subspinosa" means "almost spiny".

Semi-desert.  Rocky, sandy slopes.  Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, April 27, 2007.

Flowers are exotic and have characteristics that remind one of plants in the Fabaceae and the Fumariaceae Families.