Category Archives: Flowers

Pokeweed

September 5, 2015

We have had a wonderful monsoon season in this part of Arizona. The cloudscapes have been very impressive and ever-changing.

An attractive plant in the Catalina mountains is: Phytolacca icosandra,
Pokeberry. I have seen only two examples in all my years of looking. Recently I went to find one of the two, and the space where it used to be was completely empty of vegetation.

Then I stopped to check in on the other one and found it was still there though smaller than in the past. I was able to get a close-up picture of the flower and of the fruits. When the fruits drop what remains looks a lot like a flower. I noticed that the remnants of the anthers were still there, long after the rest of the flower had fallen off.

The first picture shows the plant in its setting. The next a closer look where you can see an inflorescence in the upper left, and a fruit stalk with deep red fruits in the lower center.

Then there is a close up of part of the inflorescence, and next an individual flower. The last picture shows the place where the fruit was, leaving behind the anthers.

This is a poisonous plant, with deep wine-colored fruit used for dyes and inks. The leaves can be eaten only after much preparation to remove the toxins.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

July 23, 2015

I apologize for the long gap between postings on this blog. Mostly it was due to a hernia operation that I had and complications after the surgery. I am now back on the trail and very happy to be visiting my friends, the flowers.

There is a composite flower that is not native to the Santa Catalinas Mountains, but I have seen it in two places in that range. It is called Mexican Hat, (Ratibida columnaris). I saw it years ago in Gordon Hirabayashi camp ground when it was still called Prison Camp. I have looked for it there every year for the last few years and came to the conclusion that the population has died out. The other place is along side of one of the residential roads in Summerhaven. There are lots of them near where Loma Linda Extension Road meets Ajo Avenue. Until last week I had never seen them anywhere else on the mountain. Last Saturday I stopped at mile post 17 to get something out of my trunk and saw a collection of what looked like black flowers. On closer examination they proved to be another colony of Mexican Hat. Before driving off I decided to get out my loupe and take a closer look. Though I have known that it was a composite, meaning that what looks like a single flower is composed of many flowers, I had never looked to see what the individual flowers look like. I got out my super-close-up lens, and got these pictures.

The Mexican hat plant A close-up

Ratibida columnaris 6 The “Hat” part has lots of individual flowers on it – below is what these individual flowers look like close-up

I used the same lens to take a closer look at the Mahogany Milkweed (Asclepias hypoleuca). This plant is fairly rare. This was taken on the Palisades Trail, less than a half a mile from the top of the trail.

A close up of the center of a Mahogany Milkweed flower – A cluster of flowers

Below is Fendler hawkweed, the last picture being a close-up view.

Yet another flower worth a closer look is Fendler Hawkweed (HieracIum fendleri). The plant can be six inches or even a foot high, with rather small flowers that open for a short time toward the middle of the day. This flower looks different close up.

The summer rains began in June this year, so we can expect lots and lots of flowers for the rest of the summer.

JUNE SIGHTINGS

June 6, 2015

Steve and I were walking along Oracle Ridge. A fairly steady wind was whistling through the bare trunks of ponderosa pines which were burned in the fire twelve years ago. As we looked up we could see ravens circling around, playing with the wind and with each other. At first there were just a few. After a while I counted twenty-four, and knew there could have been more. When I finally woke up to the possibility that this would be worth photographing, one of the ravens had settled on the top of a burned out tree, and a few others were near. Soon the dance was over, and the sky empty. What a treat!

A raven on a dead ponderosa pine with two more in the sky

Ed and I were making our way up Turkey Run and stopped, as we always do, to see if the rare and beautiful Shooting star flowers were in bloom. I took out my binoculars and thought I saw one lone blossom up the hill and to the right. Ed looked and questioned my perception. He said it was just a patch of sunlight on a leaf. The hill is very steep and wet. I had to scramble up and see for myself. I got near enough to the clump of foliage on the right to know that Ed was correct. Then I looked left and saw more than twenty Shooting star plants, all of them in bud and three with open flowers.

Watercolor painting of shooting star plants (Dodecatheon dentatum)

Watercolor of a flower and a bud

Years ago when I first saw these plants I got some good photographs and was able to do watercolor portrait of a group of plants, and a close-up painting of a single flower.

We were taking a plant walk in Marshall Gulch. Anne called me to look at a cluster of Coral root orchids. There were four in a little group. I managed to get a picture of what I thought was one plant, but turned out to be two. This is possibly the most densely flowered of these orchids I

have ever seen.

Spotted Coral Root orchids (Corallorhiza maculata) The one with the black background is actually two plants. Note the penny for scale.

Coming down the mountain I stopped to see if the rare and somewhat obscure Catalina beardtongue (Penstemon discolor) was in bloom. I found them where I had expected to see them, and noticed that a few of the plants in bloom. I had my close-up camera with me so could get a really nice picture of one of these beautiful flowers.

Catalina beartongue (Penstemon discolor) –

These plants are about six inches tall.

An individual flower close up

Mountain colors

May 16, 2015

Last night it snowed high up in the Catalina mountains. I had been planning to lead a nature walk in Marshall Gulch. Three days ago I twisted my knee, not by hiking in the rocky wilderness, but by standing up after sitting in our dining room chair! Because of the snow and the wonky knee I cancelled the walk.

Among other plants I wanted to show people the Orange Gooseberry (Ribes pinetorum). Some years I have hiked in Marshall Gulch too late in the season and have missed the flowers entirely. This year Ed and I were fascinated to look at the plant with its distinctive leaves, and what we imagine is the sequence from flower to fruit. The flower buds have a touch of pink in them. When the flowers open the petals are orange to red, and curve backwards. Later it seems that they flatten out and the color fades a little. After that the petals point downward again, similar to the initial bud, and the fruit starts to form at the top.

Ed looking up at Orange Gooseberry bushes

Some of the branches

ribes pinetorumLF A single leaf

The flower bud

Ribes pinetorum 7 red An opened flower

The flower with petals splayed out

A flower on the left, and on the right the dried petals with fruit forming above them

We have seen some coral root orchids this year. These orchids have no chlorophyl. They get their nourishments from fungus at their roots.

The oak trees on the mountain are starting to bloom, with their long male catkins and nearly invisible female flowers. This time of the year on the live oaks, some of the leaves turn color before falling off.

Below looking into a Netleaf oak (Quercus rugosa) with leaves ready to drop and male flowers

Our eyes were caught by the beauty of a

spray of lupine at the end of a fallen log. The yellow flowers are Wooton’s groundsel. There are a few flowers in the mountains. Many more will come out after the summer rains begin.

NEW FLOWERS

April 29, 2015

Today Ed and I drove up the mountain, and found that last Sunday morning’s rain in Tucson was snow up on the mountain. In this picture you can see the patches alternating between snow and dry ground as the trees cast their shadows on the landscape.

The earliest Spring flowers have come and gone, but there is still plenty to see. Right now the Blue and Foothills Paloverde trees are loaded with blooms, though a little past their prime.

Walking along the sidewalk near our home I noticed a plant I had not seen before. “Too bad it is not in bloom” I thought to myself. A common error. I was able to get a photograph of the plant, lying flat on the desert, and was amazed to see that it was in bloom with tiny flowers. It is called Downy Prairie Clover, (Dalea neomexicana).

Looking straight down at the plant

The plant against the black velvet, The flowers are scarcely visible at the tips of the fuzzy white things

A typical leaf

Side view of a flower

Bottom view of a flower

Hiking with Dave in Sabino Canyon we came across this beautiful flower. As far as I know I have not seen it before. It is very attractive growing among the green foliage by the intermittent stream. It is called Arizona Centaury (Centaurium arizonicum).

A plant with several flowers

Close up of one of the flowers

Thinking of invisible flowers, I caught one of the most interesting ones just near the end of its flowering period. It is called Glandular Threadplant (Nemacladus glanduliferus). If I ever get around to publishing a book on “Invisible Flowers” this would make a nice cover. The penny gives you some idea of how small it is.

From the penny you can judge how small the plant is, and how very small the flower is

A close-up of this little beauty

We are now in late Spring or early Summer. Today Ed and I saw our first orchid. (Spring Coral Root). We look forward to seeing all kinds of flowers as the year progresses.

PLANTS AND SKUNKS

March 30, 2015

Recently Dave, Lis and I went off the beaten path to climb a hill in the front range of the Catalina Mountains. On the way I saw a large patch of Plectritis (Plectritis ciliosa). This is one of those plants that is so easily overlooked that it does not really have a common name. The plants are about six inches high, with an inflorescence that is about the size of a marble with a cluster of small flowers twisted around the head. Its name is from a Greek word which means ‘braided”. I always enjoy seeing this little plant which is not included in most wildflower guides, (not even my own, which I plan to make up for this in a future book.) I managed to get some good close-up pictures, but failed to take a wider view, showing a collection of them in their habitat. I returned two days later to photograph a group of them in their habitat, but couldn’t find a single one! A few days after that, Ed and I were exploring the plants in the Gordon Hirabayashi Camp Ground (formerly called Prison Camp), and found large patches of it. Looking down at a patch of Plectritis

A double flower head

A closer look at the flower head

An individual flower – many are pinker than this one

On a different walk Dave and I found ourselves in Bear Canyon, resting in the shade by the stream. I was interested in studying and photographing a plant that I have seen many times but not really noticed. At first it looks like a grass, but it is very different. I believe it is Swamp carex (Carex senta), one of a very large family called Sedges. Many look like grasses, but are quite different. I do not fully understand the various parts, but I believe that the pale yellow top, like a bottle brush, contains the male flowers, and that the female flowers may be lower down on the plant with yellow tips.

A patch of Swamp carex in the stream bed, with previous years’ leaves forming a massive mat

A look at a single plant with the inflorescence

The penny gives scale to this picture of the flower parts of the Carex

A close up – with all kinds of fascinating bits and pieces

Last Saturday, on a very pleasant nature walk with the Arizona Native Plant Society, we saw many flowers of interest. Walking back by the road we couldn’t help noticing how much the ground around many of the prickly pear cactus were all dug up. Various theories were advanced until one person knew the answer. This is Skunk work. Evidently skunks love burrowing around the roots of the cactus to get grubs, beetles, and other goodies.
The ground around a Prickly pear dug up by skunks
On recent walks I have come across two new flowers. One must be one of the chickweeds, (Cerastium), and the other looks like a petunia. Since this is in a camp site, I suspect that the petunia was planted by one of the campers or the camp director. It is very pretty, but looks out of place in this mountain setting.

The mystery chickweed

The Petunia (or whatever it is)

Flowers at the top

March 19, 2015

February 13th was a beautiful day on the mountains. Dave and I went looking for some Iris plants I saw last year to see if there might be signs of them this early. Nothing. But then, on the west end of the Butterfly trail, the delightful Red Fuzz Saxifrage plants (Saxifraga eriophora) were starting up. With their mixture of red and green leaves, red flower stalk, and white or pink flowers, they are quite a sight. Some years I have even seen them poking through the snow. I went there again today and caught a picture of a flower cluster, glistening from the recent rain. It was a cool day on the mountain (38 degrees), and the flowers looked like they were doing fine.

Looking down on the Red Fuzz Saxifrage plants

A close-up with my thumb giving scale

Another close-up wet with recent rain
We also saw Periwinkle and Dandelion at 8000 feet. The beautiful Valerian (used as a medicinal plant for sleep problems) has buds and soon will be in bloom (Valeriana arizonica).

Periwinkle (Vinca Major) already in bloom

My watercolor painting of Valerian

Jim and I were driving along on our way home from botanizing in the desert. Out of the clear blue sky I asked him to tell me about Tackstem (Calycoseris wrightii). He wondered why I asked the question, and I explained that my chief Botanical advisor on the Flower book, Joan, had come to the conclusion that Tackstem does not occur on the Catalina mountains, and is fairly rare in this part of Arizona. If we see a white flower like this in the Catalina Mountains it is almost certainly Desert Chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana). He agreed, and said that sometimes, depending on weather conditions, etc, Tackstem may be found along some road sides. The flowers of the two are nearly identical, but the Tackstem has little tack-shaped glands growing along the stem, and base of the flowers.

Chicory flower

Tackstem flower

Chicory at the base of the flower

Base of the Tackstem showing the glands

A few minutes later I noticed some white flowers out of the corner of my eye and I suggested we stop and have a look. When we got out of the car and walked back to the flowers, we found that they were Tackstems! This is the first time I had ever met and photographed the plant.

Every time we go out, we see more flowers in bloom. On a recent hike I counted over 60 different flowering species. What a treat.

THE DESERT IN BLOOM

March 7, 2015

The forest floor in Saguaro National Park East is carpeted in green, like a well tended
golf course. But what looks like grass is really thousands and thousands of small plants with tiny white flowers in the Borage family, possibly Bearded Cryptantha ( Cryptantha barbigera. )

Bearded Cryptantha

Three of the women admiring a Saguaro

Yesterday a group of women accompanied me in search of an interesting plant there: Texas Desert Rue, (Thamnosa [Greek – Smelly Shrub] Texana). It grows only a foot or two high, and has very small dark red flowers and a distinctive and pleasant (to my taste) odor. It is also called Dutchman’s Breeches, because of the shape of the fruit. It is harmful to livestock because it causes them to be oversensitive to light. The plant we were looking for was in a wash (dry river bed). This involved a fairly long walk in sand, which I found a little tiring. After we located and photographed it, we continued along the wash until we joined a trail to head back to our vehicles. After a short distance we came across several Thamnosa plants right along the side of the path.

Kathleen’s hand giving an idea of scale of the Texas Desert Rue

Getting a closer look

A close-up of a flower

The fruit, like Dutchmen’s breeches

There were many plants to entertain us on our three and a half mile loop. Altogether we saw about fifty different species in bloom, and many more about to flower.

Earlier this week Val and I took a ride to Ajo – about 150 miles west of here, to give a talk to the Ajo Garden Club. We expected to see lots of wildflowers along the roadsides, since we have had some good winter rains. The showing was not up to our expectations, though there were many Lupines and Desert Marigold along the road. Half way to Ajo it started to rain, and continued all the way to the Ajo Public Library where I spoke about “Nature’s Small Wonders”. The talk was well received. On the return journey we stopped at a town called “Why” (possibly so named because there is a Y-shaped intersection in the middle of the town), population under 200 . I had driven through this part of Arizona before, and knew that it was just a little collection of homes and a gas station. Just for fun I asked the attendant at the gas station how far to go until we got to Why. He tilted back his head, and began to roar with laughter. “You are in it!” he said. As I left I looked up at the name of the Gas station. It read: “Why Not?”

We went through Why to the Organ Pipe National Monument with its wonderful visitor’s center, and lots of fascinating plant and animal life, resolving to go back again when the Organ Pipe Cactus and the Ajo Lily are in bloom (April or May).

Organ Pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) on a cloudy day at Organ Pipe National Monument

WILDFLOWERS GALORE

February 28, 2015

Ed and I were hiking up the trail and had stopped to look at some flowers. A couple came down the trail towards us, evidently having gone over five miles of rough terrain. They asked us if we knew any of the flowers. This led to a pleasant botany lesson. The man looked at me and asked how old I was. I said: “Eighty-seven”. We then talked a little more and finally I couldn’t stand the suspense any more. “And how old are you?”

“We are both ninety” he said with a great smile. The two of them looked to be in their sixties. I felt a little ashamed. Ed, who is younger than I am, did not even admit to his age. After some awkwardness I asked him the secret of his longevity. “I haven’t died yet” was his full explanation.

Six times in the last eleven days we have explored this trail (Babat Do’ag in the Catalina Mountains) and every time we have seen new flowers in bloom. On the first trip, February 18, we saw about 30 species. Today we saw over 50. Perhaps the most interesting was the Broom rape (Orobanche), a plant that lives by drawing nourishment from the roots of other plants. It is not green at all, does not have chlorophyll, and is incapable of making food from the energy of the sun. On one trip we saw one fully grown one, with four near by just beginning to pop their heads through the soil. The next trip we found another near by. Today Jim and I saw all of those, and more than a dozen more on the Soldier Trail, just a couple of miles further down the mountain.

The Orobanche – the penny gives an idea of size

Another smaller Orobanche

A close-up of one of its flowers

Two of the many we saw on Soldier Trail

Among the most spectacular plants now is the “Indigo Bush”, Dalea pulchra. This time of year the plant is covered with deep blue or even purple flowers. And the bees and other insects love it.

Indigo Bush

There is a fairly common low growing plant imported from Europe called “Filaree” or “Heron’s Bill”, (Erodium cicutarium). It has the ability to drill its own seeds into the ground. Long ago I learned of a native Erodium, called “Texas Geranium” or “Stork’s Bill” (Erodium Texanum) and for years I have been trying to find it. This was my lucky month. I found quite a few on the Babat Do’ag trail, and then noticed it growing in our church parking lot!

Texas Geranium plant

A close-up of the flower

Since I began working on “Invisible Flowers” I have become interested in the Euphorbia family. Many of its genera and species are low growing plants with small flowers. In particular there are a half a dozen or more euphorbias called “spurges” in this area. I have been trying to learn to how tell them apart. Today Jim told me that while many spurges have single flowers at the end of each stalk, one has flowers growing in a little cluster. It is called Euphorbia capitellata (meaning “having a little head”). I find its tiny flowers quite charming.

The flowering head of this Spurge

One of the many flowers in the head

A walk in Cienega Creek

February 14, 2015

It was a very windy day, so Ed and I were looking for a place to hike that was somewhat sheltered. We found it in Cienega Creek, a wild-life preserve. We had to make reservations, but that turned out to be very easy.

After parking the car we descended the trail to the creek bed. We met only one person that day, and he was a naturalist friend, Joe. We stopped to chat with him and walked together for a while. Joe spotted an ancient artifact on the trail which we examined, and then carefully put back in place.

The creek bed was dry, but after we turned north for a short distance, we found a stream. On either side there were twenty-foot cliffs, so the wind was gentle and the air warm.

The creek supports a large population of trees: giant cottonwoods, ash, mesquite, willows and other trees. Where the creek was fairly wide, and thus moving slowly, the male flowers that had fallen from the cottonwoods covered the surface, turning it gold.

There is water under this carpet of gold flowers from the Cottonwoods overhead

We looked upstream and saw the point where the water was coming out of the ground. Beyond it was just sand. This is fairly common in these western washes. The water may be running year-round underground, surfacing here and there, only to descend again.

In the top half of the picture there is just sand. In the middle you can see where the water starts flowing, some of it covered in cottonwood flowers

Another stretch was lined with the bright green foliage of yellow monkey flowers, a plant with blue flowers which we did not identify, and possibly some water cress.

The creek bordered by aquatic plants, with shadows of cottonwood trees

Just a few of these plants with blue flowers were blooming

Ed was able to identify all kinds of birds that were flitting from branch to branch.

The surrounding cliffs were carved by water. We especially noticed a mesquite tree that had been deeply undercut. We wondered how it could survive living life on the edge like that.

There were signs of high water in canyon, including this mass of tree trunks and branches. This creek must be impossible to explore in high water, and a section of it is part of the Arizona Trail that runs from Mexico to Utah, over 800 miles.

A six foot high pile of debris from floods in the canyon

We made our way back up the hill to the car park, driven by a steady wind at our backs. This was one of those short and sweet nature walks.

Frank S. Rose

Flowers and more