The downside to waiting so long to post photos, especially of plants is that I have forgotten most of the IDs and all that hard work of keying out IDs back in May have gone to waste. Oh who am I kidding, keying out plants on the desert trip almost always consists of asking Randomtruth "Hey man, what's this?" and "I know I asked you an hour ago, but what is this again?"
So I am going to do my best to re-ID these flowers, but I am not going to let a couple of unknown plants hold this post up for another 6 months.
Please feel to correct any IDs. [Thanks for the ID help Christopher Moore and Randomtruth]
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| Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis |
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| Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis |
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| Apricot Mallow Sphaeralcea ambigua |
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| Desert Senna Senna armata |
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| Brown-eyes Suncup Chylismia claviformis |
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| Barrel Cactus Ferocactus cylindcaceus |
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| Barrel Cactus Ferocactus cylindcaceus |
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| Common Fishhook Cactus Mammillaria tetrancistra |
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| Wild Canterbury-bell Phacelia campanularia |
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| Palmer's Penstemon Penstemon palmeri |
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Palmer's Penstemon
Penstemon palmeri
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| Desert Thistle Cirsium neomexicanum |
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| Mojave-aster Xylorhiza tortifolia |
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| Desert Indian Paintbrush Castilleja chromosa |
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| Buckhorn Cholla Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa |
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| Buckhorn Cholla Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa |
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| Beavertail Cactus Opuntia basilaris |
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| Silver Cholla Cylindropuntia echinocarpa |
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| Hedgehog cactus Echinocereus engelmannii |
When RandomTruth saw the below flower we were walking along a dirt road listening to group of young coyotes go apeshit at the scene of mom or dad returning with an early dinner. These young 'yotes were howling, squealing, and making the kind of ruckus that made all the rabbits nervous.
RandomTruth was so excited to see this mound of dirt flower that at first I thought his screams of joy meant he's found a Heloderma. Imagine my disappointment when it was just a plant. Oh, but wait, this wasn't just a plant! Look at this glorious little turd flower!
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| Scaly-stemmed Sand Plant Pholisma arenarium |
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| Scaly-stemmed Sand Plant Pholisma arenarium |
Beautiful photos!! I did want to make one note, though: I think the ID on the Ephedra is mismatched. Ephedra is a conifer and doesn't have flowers like the one in the photo. Again, lovely post and photographs!
ReplyDeleteWhoops, I meant to type "cone-bearing" instead of conifer. They are, of course, Gnetophytes :)
DeleteYep. You are right. That was one I was doing by memory and didn't recheck. Whoops. Thanks for the heads up.
DeleteNo problem. I didn't mean to respond and not give and ID, but it's been a while since I worked in the desert and my books weren't in the office. I think it was desert senna (Senna armata). HTH!
DeleteYep, that sure looks like it. I hadn't had time to go back to the field guides so thanks for looking out.
DeleteEpilogue to the Purple Turd Sand Plant mini story -- the next day, two of the stalks(?) had vanished with no trace. And I do not remember any other humans wandering through... what critter would abscond with them as a prize!?
ReplyDeleteWell done. The Suncup was Camissonia claviformis, now Chylismia claviformis with the recent tax changes. The desert paintbrush too has changed, and is now Castilleja chromosa. Love the red pop of the fruits on that Mammillaria photo. Desert xmas card? :)
ReplyDeleteMy speculation on the disappearing sand plants is desert woodrat. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was a ground squirrel too.
Thanks for the ID help as always. Do you think the woodrat ate the sand plant or did she just collect it to add to her collection of pretty things?
DeleteTotally food. "Sand food" is another name often given to these plants. I recently had to bisect one of the similar Orobanches for a collection, and it was dense but fleshy, like a morel mushroom. I would bet lots of animals prize them.
DeleteI figured food, but really wanted to think it was just because they are so damn pretty. That's cool about getting to dissect a similar species. Morel is a great comparison.
DeleteWow. Looking forward to a future life farther south and more desert adventures. Guess I know who to contact re IDs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy. Do you have set plans to move closer to the desert or is a move more in the distant future?
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