Bloomipedia
Trailing windmills (Allionia incarnata)
Photo: Lyrae via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Trailing windmills

Allionia incarnata

Native in the lower 48

Trailing windmills is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in January–December.

8states
3of our state lists
7,768U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico

Quick look

Allionia incarnata is a flowering plant in the four o'clock family (Nyctaginaceae) native to the Caribbean, the southern United States, and south through Central America and most of western South America. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with dark pink flowers. Allionia incarnata is known as pink three-flower, pink windmills, trailing allionia, trailing four-o'clock, and trailing windmills.

  • It belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual, perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 8 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. NatureServe
  • In Arizona, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in March–November. iNaturalist
  • In New Mexico, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in March–October. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 2,933 research-grade sightings of it in Arizona, ranking #30 among the 109 flowers on our Arizona list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 566 research-grade sightings of it in New Mexico, ranking #102 among the 109 flowers on our New Mexico list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 485 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #84 among the 110 flowers on our Nevada list. iNaturalist

Trailing windmills gift ideas

Handmade trailing windmills gifts from independent makers.

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (2,528 records)
Bloom time in each of our 3 states
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
ArizonaNativeMarch–November2,933
New MexicoNativeMarch–October566
NevadaNativeApril–October485

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
Arizona
Not listed Not on Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025). NatureServe: S5, secure in Arizona. AAC R3-3 App. A
New Mexico
Not listed Not on New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in New Mexico. 19.21.2.9 NMAC
Nevada
Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). NatureServe: S4, apparently secure in Nevada. NAC 527.010
Rare elsewhere
Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: CO (S2), OK (SH). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records trailing windmills in 8 states.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah.

Arizona counties with USDA records: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Yuma.

New Mexico counties with USDA records: Bernalillo, Chaves, De Baca, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, McKinley, Otero, San Juan, Sierra, Socorro, Valencia.

Nevada counties with USDA records: Carson City, Clark, Lincoln, Nye.

More Arizona flowers

Sources