Desert Shrooms and Blooms
I’m back in Flagstaff but I’m not going to post anything from here until I catch up! So I will divide the rest of September into 3 posts starting with the wonderful rains we received early this month. Lots of rain is needed for Fungi to pop up in the Desert and we received both!Since Fungi like very moist environments, they are most commonly seen in lawns and golf courses but there were many puffballs spotted near an under shrubs in the desert this month much to the delight of hikers who had never seen them.
Green Gilled Parasols on golf course by my house. (Highly poisonous). That is the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in the background.
Green Gilled Parasol. McDowell Mountains and Preserve in the background.
Desert Inky Caps. McDowell Sonoran Preserve in the background. (smartphone image)
Common Puffballs in the Sonoran Desert (Smartphone image)
Our weather has been very strange the entire year which confused many of my plants. My Echinopsis, for instance, bloomed at the times I expected but then I had blooms very late this month which is a record late date for me. Also blooming later than normal was my Ferocactus wislizeni. Mid August is their typical blooming time but I had blooms in mid September. Of course I am not complaining! Photos below.
Echinopsis huascha blooming later than normal. (smartphone)
Echinopsis sp. Unfortunately, I missed the second bloom. (Canon Powershot N)
Ferocactus wislizeni. August is its typical blooming time but I didn’t complain! (Canon Powershot N)
Ferocactus wislizeni aka Candy Barrel Barrel Cactus named for the yummy colors! I also have a yellow one. (Canon Powershot N)
Oh…and butterflies are starting to show up so I’m including this image from my garden.
American Snout butterfly on my Little Leaf Cordia. Interestingly, his “nose” is actually two separate parts. (Canon SX50 at max zoom through a window)
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I love this post! Chuckling over the fungi appearing on the golf course. Partly because it always seems so odd to have all that lush grass in the middle of a desert, and partly because they look a bit like golf balls. And I bet the people running the golf courses are not happy at fungi appearing in their perfect grass!
Your cacti blooms are fantastic and you have some great shots with your Smartphone and Canon N!!
Finally, love that butterfly. There’s one in western Europe which is very similar, but I’d have to go to the south of France to have the chance to see it.
Hope you are having fun in Flagstaff and I hope it doesn’t pour with rain all the time so you can enjoy some flowers and butterflies. 🙂
I’m happy you enjoyed the photos. I thought the mushrroms were golf balls when we first spotted them too and yes…I’m guessing the maintenance crew would rather they not be there! 🙂
Very few butterflies and flowers this time of year in Flagstaff (below freezing every night so far!) but I’m having such a good time searching for fall color. Some areas at the highest elevations are showing color but I think it will be several more days before the rest does. No rain forecast, thankfully! I can handle the cold but I’d rather not have snow 🙂
Brrrrrr! And here it is unusually balmy and looks like carrying on for at least another week. No real fall colour here yet; it looks a bit autumnal but most of the colour has been the same since August, generally trees suffering from lack of moisture losing yellowing leaves. But we don’t really get colour here until later in October/November and then most of our native trees don’t turn red, only boring browny colours. That’s why I have some non-native shrubs and a Liquidambar for the spectacular reds and purples!