Phacelia

Not sweet nor tender
as its name might imply, just
another danger

~ carliewired

This lovely flowering plant is scorpion weed, a native in the Arizona desert. I found a patch of it along a walkway. I, in my sandals, stepped daintily around it to get my best shots. I have a caution now, not to touch anything until I know it is safe to do so. Desert life is often notoriously deceptive - it looks beautiful, but keep away! Scorpion weed is a fine example. It is known to cause skin rashes/irritation like poison ivy or poison oak. It may take a week to ten days to recover. Scratching just spreads the agony. One's housepet can bring it into the house on its fur. I've read that untreated tobacco can be used to treat the itch. Also, cow dung is said to be an effective remedy. I haven't seen any cows in my neighbourhood, but there is that feed lot out east on Interstate 8 ....