Semi-desert. Shrublands, openings. Summer.
Near Corona Arch, Utah, June 7, 2007.
Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area, Utah, April 23, 2006.

Tiquilia latior forms dense mats and grows to two feet in diameter and twelve inches tall.  Flowers are light pink, funnel shaped, and at the level of the prickly leaves.  This is a Colorado Plateau endemic.

It is common for Tiquilia latior to have a mass of dead leaves and flowers.  Leaves are a dark green before spring growth turns them to a lighter green.

"Tiquilia" is a plant name given by natives of South America.  "Latior" is Latin for "wide".  

Semi-desert. Shrublands, openings. Summer.
Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area, April 23, 2006.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, openings. Summer.
Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area, April 23, 2006.

Leaves are thick with stiff hairs along the margins.  The leaf shape is an easy reminder that this plant is not Leptodactylon pungens, which has very narrow leaves, a somewhat similar growth pattern, and an accumulation of dried leaves and flowers.  In the Four Corners area T. latior is found in Arizona and Utah, perhaps in New Mexico, and not in Colorado.   Leptodactylon pungens is found in all Four Corners states.