I was a bit surprised to come across a small meadow of bluebells on May 1, as the snow had melted just a short time before. That didn't stop this pretty member of the Borage Family (Boraginaceae) from making its appearance. These are Tall Fringed Bluebells (Mertensia ciliata). 
I've read that the flowers are edible raw--but I haven't tried them.
This Astragalus looked different from the Astragalus newberryi I had seen a couple weeks earlier. With its bushier form, more upright stems and flowers, and greener leaves, I knew it was a different species. There are plenty of choices, as Astragalus is a big genus within the Pea Family (Fabaceae), but I was able to key it out to Freckled Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus).
The purple and white flowers are abundant.
The seed pods have a deep crease and a beaked end--apparently one of the distinguishing characteristics.
The yellow flowers of this member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae) attracted my attention next to a spring. Then I groaned. It appeared to be a Potentilla, and there are 14 known Potentilla species in this area. 
I started down the key and was amazed when the first entry defined this species. The plants are stoloniferous (having stems that go sideways along the ground) and the flowers are in the axils of the leaves that are on the stolons (the flowers come out of the same spot as the leaves). Lo and behold, something easy to identify! This is silverweed cinquefoil, also called common silverweed or just silverweed (Argentina anserina). Despite the inclusion of "weed" in the common name, it is native to western and northern North America. And if you're wondering what happened to the Potentilla genus name, it was changed to Argentina in the 1990s. Argenta means silver, and fine hairs on the bottomside of the leaves make them look silvery.
This flower looks completely yellow, but under ultraviolet light, it changes to white and red. Check it out here. Some insects have UV vision, so this bull's-eye pattern helps them direct their efforts.
This dramatic flower in the Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae) can easily be missed because it grows so low to the ground and is a late spring bloomer that disappears in a few weeks. It has the lousy name of Dwarf Lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera). Such an interesting-looking flower should have a better common name. 
As you can see in this photo with my fingers for scale, the pink and white flowers are quite small. The leaves grow in a basal rosette (close to the ground and all around the flower) and are deeply serrated.
Here's a view from about waist level. The colors of the leaves and flowers don't stand out much against the pine-needle strewn ground. This one was growing under a pinyon pine tree.
I noticed this beautiful white flower blooming last week and saw that although it was a cryptantha, it was different from the James' Cryptantha I had previously seen. At first the white flowers look very similar, but the yellow part on these stick out a little more, and the leaves are a different shape, color, and size. This is Roughseed Cryptantha, also called Yellow-eye Cryptantha (Cryptantha flavoculata). Because the flowers emerge from a basal leaves, some botanists refer to this genus as Oreocarya.
When the plants grow close together, they provide beautiful bursts of color on the pinyon pine/juniper forest floor.
Here's a closeup where you can see the yellow appendages that stick out quite a bit from the white petals of the flower. Cryptanthas in general are very hairy, and you can see the dense hairs on the leaves.
In this picture you can see another characteristic of this species: the corolla tube is longer than the calyx (or in other words, the yellow part of the corolla tube sticks out from the green part of the calyx).
This distinctive little plant with its holly-like leaves is Creeping Barberry, also called Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens). It's in the Barberry Family (Berberidaceae), a family with 15 genera and 450 species.
In this photo, the flowers still haven't opened, but their bright yellow color still makes them easily observable. Later in the season, dark purple fruits will form.
Here is a photo a couple weeks later with the flowers open. They certainly become a more vibrant yellow.
The bright orange flowers of the Gooseberryleaf Globemallow, also called Currant-leaf Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia) distracted me when I was out running and later when I was out driving in late April. This beautiful member of the Mallow Family (Malvaceae) blooms from April through August.
The leaves of this globemallow are deeply dissected.
Gooseberryleaf Globemallow grows along roads and disturbed areas. It is a native perennial, and because it is able to grow in such harsh conditions is often used in seeding mixes after wildfires. It also grows very well in my native flower garden and is a good plant to use for xeriscaping.
