Flower profile
Trailing windmills
Allionia incarnata
Trailing windmills (Allionia incarnata) is a flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly March–November across the U.S.
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 March–November.
*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 April–October. iNaturalist
- In New Mexico, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–October. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 2,933 research-grade sightings of it in Arizona, ranking #30 among the 132 flowers on our Arizona list. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 566 research-grade sightings of it in New Mexico, ranking #102 among the 152 flowers on our New Mexico list. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 485 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #84 among the 132 flowers on our Nevada list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
Bloom time in the 3 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it
| State | Type | Peak bloom | Sightings* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Native | April–October | 2,933 |
| New Mexico | Native | April–October | 566 |
| Nevada | Native | April–October | 485 |
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?
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.
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.
Names, range and relatives
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 85 counties across 8 states; the most are in Texas (37), Arizona (15), New Mexico (14).
More from the Nyctaginaceae family (9 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Wishbone bush, Marvel of Peru, Wild Four o'Clock, Colorado Four o'Clock, Scarlet spiderling, Great basin sand verbena, Snowball sand verbena, Purple sand verbena.
More Arizona flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ALIN.
- iNaturalist, Allionia incarnata: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Allionia incarnata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Arizona: Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025).
- Arizona: Arizona prohibited noxious weeds (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-4-245).
- New Mexico: New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC).
- New Mexico: New Mexico Noxious Weed List (NM Department of Agriculture, updated June 2020).
- Nevada: Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010).
- Nevada: Nevada noxious weeds (NAC 555.010).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Allionia incarnata (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Lyrae via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.