Some common names for this thistle is New Mexico Thistle and Desert Thistle. I used a little photoshop to try to make it stand out from the background but green twiggy stuff against green twiggy stuff is difficult to capture.
I wanted a macro shot of the head but I was lucky to get anything because of high winds.
I went to shoot Ocotillo blooms late yesterday and found this on the trail instead! I’m pretty confident that it’s a Paleface Delphinium (Delphinium parishii). It’s also called a Desert Larkspur. The flower is really interesting and reminded me a little of a Columbine because of a backward facing spur. I don’t know if this Delphinium is rare but it sure was exciting to see! (Cholla Mountain area)
Teddy Bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) blooms are fairly small and very light in color so most people don’t even notice them. Probably a good thing since getting too close to one of these Cholla almost guarantees that you’ll leave with segment stuck on you somewhere 🙂
We’re still seeing a few Phacelia (very few) but wildflowers will probably be totally gone this week. I’m already going through Wildflower withdrawal 🙁
Rambling Milkweed (Sarcostemma hirtellum) has beautiful half inch flowers. I spotted it ,yesterday, growing on the Wolfberry (Lycium berlandieri) seen below.
My Claret Cups (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) and other Hedgehogs (Echinocereus engelmannii) started blooming yesterday. Both are Echinocereus. This was a quick hand held shot using a lensbaby.
Wildflowers are waning but most cactus are now full of flower buds like this Buckhorn Cholla, for instance. New growth is so beautiful when backlit. The yellow you see in the background is Brittlebush.
To me, this Cholla skeleton looked like Shaman wearing an owl mask.
Our native Parry’s Penstemon is a nice break from the mostly yellow and white flowers we get in the desert. I planted these a two years ago and we now see sprouts coming up everywhere. More food for the Javelina 🙂
This scene of Brittlebush with Lupine looked like a painting to me so I used Photoshop to accentuate that.