Unless you are a botanist, identification of flowers by measuring and counting their various parts, as described in technical keys, is generally too complicated to be practical. Several years ago, recognizing this problem, I authored a book, Flowers of the Southwest Deserts, illustrated by Jeanne R. Janish and published by the Southwestern Monuments Association, designed to aid the wildflower fancier in plant identification by color-grouping the flowers. With Mrs. Janish?s superb illustrations pointing out each plant?s most obvious characteristics, it has proved an excellent field guide. However, the demand for natural color flower portraits could not go unheeded, and this book is the result. The two books complement each other, although each fills a need in its own right. Used together, they make you more positive of some identifications. Probably the best way to become acquainted with a flower is to be introduced to it by someone. But there is one catch to this method?one plant may be known by many aliases. When the Spaniards came into the Southwest over 400 years ago they found Indians had names for some flowers in their own languages. The Spaniards added their names, and later the Americans added English names. Some of these names were of similar-appearing but quite different flowers they had known ?back East.? Later, scientists studied the desert plants, and gave them all Latin names. To assist in standardizing names of desert flowers, this booklet gives preference in its headings to scientific and common names found in Arizona Flora, by Kearney and Peebles, Second Edition, 1960. Common names found in Texas Plants, A Checklist and Ecological Summary, 1962, by F. W. Gould, also have been used. In addition, placed within the text, are some of the more widely used common names that we have encountered. Tree names, both common and scientific, follow the Checklist of Native and Naturalized Trees of the United States, by Elbert L. Little, Jr., 1953. There are many desert flowers, some quite common, for which there was not space in this booklet. If you wish to broaden your acquaintance to include more, we recommend, for added reading publications listed in the back.