Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings. Late spring/ early summer.
McElmo Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument,  April 27, 2005.

Four Corners mesas  appear to be dusted with snow in May and June, the doings of Cliff Fendler Bush.  Flowers are borne in mass profusion, primarily toward the top of the bush thus making identification easy even from a distance.  The bush shape is distinctive: columnar with long vertical dark stems.

George Engelmann and Asa Gray named this species in 1852 from a specimen collected by F. J. Lindheimer near New Braunfels, Texas in 1850.  Intermountain Flora notes that this first specimen (the "type" specimen) is in an isolated population, for it has never been found less than 300 kilometers from New Braunfels".  William Weber now maintains that the Texas plants are F. rupicola and that plants in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico are F. falcata, named by Thornber in 1913.  Intermountain Flora, Four Corners Flora, and the Synthesis accept F. rupicola for the species found in all Four Corners states and Texas.  Intermountain states, "There is a wide array of intergradation among [the forms of this plant but] the morphological extremes do not correlate with geographical distribution.  For these reasons, we are not recognizing any [species or varieties other than] F. rupicola."  

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings. Late spring/ early summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, Point Lookout Trail , May 14, 2004.

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings. Late spring/ early summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, along road, June 5, 2001.

Painted Lady Butterflies enjoy the nectar of Cliff Fendler Bush.