Some desert plants and shrubs steal water and nutrients from the roots of nearby shrubs which makes them hemiparasitic. One such plant is White Ratany (Krameria grayi). You typically see them next to Creosote or Jojoba and so far (in my observation anyway), it doesn’t appear that the shrubs are too adversely affected. Ratany is in bloom and/or starting to bloom at the moment so take a close look at the flowers next time you pass one. They’re really unusual! The seed pods are neat too so I’ll no doubt be posting a photo soon 🙂
Tag Archives: flower
rainy day
It was very cold and rainy on our hike this morning so I was surprised to see some Brittlebush in bloom. I gave the image a little Glamour Glow courtesy of Nik Color Efex3.
a closer look
I was on the hunt for macro subjects yesterday and found this wonderful dried flower. No identity yet. It was about 3/8ths inch wide.
unidentified
Unidentified….for the moment only. I just haven’t had a chance to look it up. This flower is like so many tiny, pretty flowers that come up in disturbed soil. This was by the road next to the house.
Identity discovered: Scarlet Spiderling. What a great name!
Janusia
Janusia is in bloom. Here’s a shot from this morning of the tiny native vine growing on a Buckhorn Cholla. The vine takes over but doesn’t seem to harm the cactus. I just read that Desert Tortoise like to eat Janusia.
Buprestidae
I had narrowed down the genus of this bug to Trichodes but I was just informed by Mike Thomas at BugGuide.net that this is a Buprestidae aka Jewel Beetle. Thanks for the ID, Mike. (Next time I’ll wait for an ID before I post!)
There were so many of these bugs on this Cordia that the flowers didn’t stand a chance. Maybe when I get over the fascination, I’ll think about discouraging the plant eating bugs in my yard 🙂
(canon 24-70 at 70mm w/500D diopter. Color in background is decomposed granite.)
crucifixion thorn bloom
This morning’s hike yielded another first for my flora archives…..Crucifixion Thorn blooms. The tiny native bee was a bonus. Also shown is the mature seed pod.
(The blooms are only about 1/4 inch wide).
cal poly arboretum
We went to Cal Poly’s Arboretum on our last day in California. It’s been a fun week but we look forward to getting back to the heat, believe it or not 🙂
(I forgot to write down the name of this flower)
48 degree flower
It was 48 degrees this morning but this Echinopsis still managed to bloom! It was also raining so this is a quick handheld shot at ISO800. Yes…an external light source would have been a good idea.