Orange Crush Part 4 of 4: Desert (and some mountain) Perennials

This is it. The final installment. File under Plants of the Week #10: Perennials of the Desert Southwest (and San Juan mountains of CO).

Clematis, can you believe it? Have you ever seen nicer clematis? NO YOU HAVE NOT. At least I think that's what it is but I have to come clean. I don't remember. Rick and Lynne will tell us! San Juan National Forest, CO.

This one's easy. Mule's ears. Wyethia amplexicaulis Not to be confused with Balsamroot, the shorter, gray-leaved, more drought tolerant version of this. Ute Indian Reservation, San Juan Mountains, CO.

Lewisia nevadaensis. Nevada bitterroot. I'm actually excited typing this because it's such a rare find, and lewisia's in general are such interesting, delicate little plants. To be treasured. San Juan National Forest, CO.

Holy paintbrush, batman. This burst of color looks like a cartoon explosion. Castilleja chromosa. Chimney Rock, CO.

Prince's plume, Stanlea pinnata. The presence of this species indicates selenium-bearing soils. Fascinating. I actually do find it fascinating. Above Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, AZ.

Penstemon sp. I'm not sure which one, maybe Dusty penstemon? It was growing in a dusty place (Chaco Canyon, AZ) but I bet dusty refers to the dusty green leaves.

Penstemon eatonii, Eaton's penstemon. Near Indian Creek, Canyonlands, UT.

Ahh, my favorite - and I mean favorite - desert wildflower. Sphaeralcea coccinia, Common globemallow. It's common out there, not common up here; it will grow in my desert garden some day. Right next to the 3-tip sagebrush we liberated from the cabin in Montana and under the 10 madrones we have in pots on our patio - just waiting to be planted. They'll need to wait a little longer, they have about 20 projects ahead of them, including rebuilding the wall that will prop them up and keep them warm. Desert plants in Seattle? In my yard, hell yes.

Growing among the ruins of Penasco Blanco, Chaco Canyon

Asclepias sp, milkweed. I don't know the species. Pretty fantabulously interesting flower though. Chaco Canyon, AZ.

Delphinium sp. Larkspur. San Juan National Forest, CO.

Gilia aggregata, Scarlet Gilia. This stuff is just a brilliant flash of color in the desert. Canyon de Chelly, AZ.

Calochortus nuttallii, Sego Lily. The state flower of Utah. DO NOT PICK, you will be arrested. That's what my dad used to tell me, anyway. Canyonlands, UT.

Physaria newberryi, Newberry's twinpod. I sat down in the dirt and keyed this baby out. Look at those pods! Yellow 4-petal flowers in spring, but we missed that part. Canyonlands.

Platyschkuhria integrifolia, Nakedstem bahia. I'm not making up any of those names. Another plant I was determined to figure out with the books. Canyonlands.

Not too shabby this little flower. Reminds me of Coreopsis.

A delicate little mountain gem whose name I forget. Ginger's parents will need to rescue me again. San Juan National Forest.

I know like WTH is this? I couldn't figure it out. Anybody know?

And finally, a bunch of grass? This is a desert wetland! No kidding. It's got the three characteristics: The right color soil (gotta dig, it's mottled) , wetland indicating plant species, and hydrology. It's protected by a little outcropping of rocks, just enough to allow the soil to remain moist via a seep. This grass grows literally no where else but right here. I almost walked right past it, but luckily I had my plant nerd radar on full blast.

Well, that's it for this trip. We'll see the desert again in 2011! I already can't wait.

Since I met Ginger in 1998, we've been to the desert southwest 6 times:

1999: Zion, Red Canyon, Bryce, Escalante and we got engaged on this trip!

2001: Escalante area & Lake Powell w/ Ginger's parents. We rented Jeep Grand Cherokee and violated the rental agreement by taking it WAY off road and out of state.

2003: Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon

2005: Capitol Reef, Escalante, Zion, St. George

2007: Pagosa Springs, Hovenweep, Comb Wash, Lake Powell, Natural Bridges, San Rafael Swell

2009: Pagosa, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Chimney Rock, Canyonlands

Orange Crush Part 3 of 4, Plants that freakin’ rock, desert southwest

Before we begin with the plants, a gratuitous collared lizard shot (Chaco Canyon, AZ)

Now then, on to the desert plants!

(file under: Plants of the Week #9: Trees and Shrubs of the Desert Southwest)

I won’t list everything that we saw, just the cool stuff or plants for which we got great photos. And, sorry this took so long to roll out. Seeing all of these plants again takes us right back though!

The Cactus:

Cane Cholla, Cylindrapuntia spinosior (Chaco)

Brown spined prickly pear, Opuntia phaeacantha (Everywhere)

Claret cup, Echinocerus triglochidiatus (Everywhere, this specimen Chaco)

And cactus-like Narrowleaf Yucca, Yucca angstissima (mostly AZ)

The Trees: Everyone has seen the first two, but they have special significance since I spent a good chunk of my childhood exploring beneath their scarce shade. Just the smell of a pygmy forest brings back a flood of memories. Oh, and you make Gin from Juniper berries, yo.

Utah Juniper, Juniperus osteosperma (Everywhere, this specimen Canyon de Chelly)

Pinon Pine, Pinus edulis (Everywhere)

And very occasionally, usually on north facing canyon slopes, good ol’ Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (with a juvenile pinon pine in the background) (Canyonlands)

Fremont Cottonwood, Populus fremontii (We forded this stream in the 2WD Element. Ginger was like "WHA?" and I was like "Chillax". Canyonlands)

Other trees we enjoyed: Single leaved ash, Fraxinus anomala; Box elder, Acer negundo

The shrubs: There are about ten shrubs that all look like sagebrush from the road, but get to know them and you’ll see they are each specially adapted to certain ecological conditions and have their own merit. And only sagebrush smells like sagebrush, so this is an easy way to tell what something isn’t. Just to keep us all confused, there are many varieties of sagebrush out there, but only Three Tip gets over 4’ tall.

Three tip sagebrush, Artemesia tridentata (either side of Ginger; everywhere, but this is in Canyon de Chelly)

Fendlerbush, Fenderla rupicola (pretty amazing in bloom actually, Chimney Rock, CO)

Utah serviceberry, Amelanchier utahensis (San Juan National Forest, CO)

Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana (San Juan National Forest, CO)

Cliff rose, Purshia tridentata (Canyon de Chelly)

Fremont’s Mahonia, Berberis fremontii (Canyon de Chelly)

Mormon tea (caffeine free!), Ephedra viridis (Grows everywhere)

There were more but I'll spare you. I took note of these, but didn't get good pictures:

• Greasewood, Sarcobatus vermiculatus
• Shadescale, Atriplex confertifolia
• Four winged saltbrush, Atriplex canescens
• Mountain mahogany, Cerocarpus intricatus
• Desert sumac, Rhus aromatica
• Golden Currant, Ribes aureum (also grows in eastern WA, but looks completely different)
• Longflowered snowberry, Symphorocarpus longiflorus (coolest of the snowberry clan)

Next week:
Perennials. Try to stay in your seats.

I love summer.

Point Forecast:
47.62°N 122.36°W (Elev. 105 ft) Seattle WA

Mon

72° | 50°

Tue

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Wed

77° | 54°

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Fri

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