Emory Rock Daisy

Going out on a limb here today and making a bold claim that this is an Emory's Rock Daisy [Perityle emoryi] (See Emory Rock Daisy at Calflor.org).

The impression I have gotten several times when looking at these photos of tiny flowers against a background of small rocks is that I'm looking into an aqarium. The only thing missing is the water and some fish.

If you look carefully at these photos you will notice that once you get past the sunny yellow face in the center of the white petals you will notice how many other plants there are around the daisys. I cropped this photo in two different ways. In the first there are some tiny pink flowers to the lower left, and in the second one, there is some grass sticking up in the upper right corner. Unless you pay attention in the desert you miss a lot of stuff like this since it is all on a very small scale.

See the full-sized versions of these photos of Emory's Rock Daisy in the Desert Flower Photo Gallery.

Purple Wildfowers and Log

A dry log of wood provided an interesting backdrop for this composition of purple wildflowers. I took this series of photos in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park situated in San Diego county on March 22nd. The actual location is Plum Canyon. From the typical photos you see of spring wildflowers I went with the false impression of vast expanses of flowers, but most of the flowers are scattered and very tiny. These were probably mid-sized. I probably was confusing photos from coastal areas or vernal pools where there is more water. It is just a miracle how anything can grow in this environment and put on such a show albeit in miniature.

See the full-sized photo in the Desert Flowers slideshow.

Red and Yellow Desert Wildflower Colorburst

Here's a great burst of yellow and red from Anza-Borrego this past spring. Anyone who knows what these flowers are, I would appreciate it if you could please post a comment.

I recommend viewing the full-size photo in the Desert Flowers Gallery, but if you have a slow internet connection, I have posted this smaller image of this yellow and red wildflower colorburst in Anza-Borrego Desert.

Dormant Shrub in Anza Borrego Desert

Here are a couple of versions of a dormant shrub in Plum Canyon at Anza-Borrego State Park. Dead and dormant desert plants can make pretty interesting subjects for photos because of things like their starkness, their shapes, and the fact that the elements often exposes a lot of the grain in the wood.

This spindly shrub caught my attention among the wildflowers. I developed a couple of versions of the photo: one accentuates the yellows in the wood, while in the other I worked to develop a warm gray. I wonder which one you prefer?

View and compare them in the Plant Photo Gallery

(Dial-up optimized Plant Photo Gallery)

Dry Yucca Flowerhead

I think the yucca and agave flower in May or June, but many of last years flower stalks still stand sentry in Anza-Borrego Desert. Although the blooms on this stalk are long gone, I really found them beautiful nonetheless.

See it in the Desert Flower Gallery (Dial-up desert flower gallery for slow internet connections)

Cholla Cactus - Anza-Borrego Desert

This very sculptural-looking cactus is alluringly beautiful and drops the ends of its branches onto the ground like little balls. But woe to anyone or anything that merely brushes even gently against it as its thorns are incredibly sharp and barbed. A gentle touch with the tip of the rubber toe on my shoe and the spines were a half-inch into the rubber and impossible to pull back out! Beware of these beauties if you visit Anza-Borrego desert.

This cactus plant is actually a Cholla Cactus. There are several varieties, but this one is Cylindropuntia bigelovii or the "Teddy Bear Cholla", so named because of it's fuzzy appearance. That cute fuzziness, however, is the mass of spines covering the plant. One of my friends knows this cactus as "the widowmaker"! You can read about this and other Cholla cacti at Wikipedia: Teddy-Bear Cholla. Or additionally at this Living Desert posting which describes clearly the perils of encountering this deceptively-looking teddy-bear.

Full-sized photos of this cactus can be seen in the Plants Photo Gallery (Dial-up Plants Photo Gallery)

Yucca in Bloom at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

The yucca were starting to bloom on my visit to Anza-Borrego Desert. This flower head was heavy with creamy-colored blooms. It struck me how the flowers cymbidian orchid in a way. The bees were going crazy over these flowers.

This photo is viewable in the Desert Flowers Gallery (For slow internet connections visit the Dial-Up Gallery)

Anza-Borrego Wildflowers

This cluster of tiny wildflowers is typical of the flowers in Plum Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert this spring. Because of the dry and harsh environment, most of the flowers are tiny like the three in this photo. But what they lack in size, they make up for in color.

It's pretty difficult to try and identify all these flowers, but I'm pretty sure the white one is Desert Pincushion and the tiny lavender-colored flower is Gilia. There are so many flowers that the yellow ones could be that I don't want to hazard a guess. Help out if you can. I've been using the CalFlora.org website to try and identify the flowers in this series.

This photo is viewable in the Desert Flowers Gallery (Dial-Up Gallery)

Anza-Borrego Desert Pink Wildflower

Well, I spent a lot of time searching through the Calflora database in an effort to identify this pink flower from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but didn't see a photo of anything that looked like it. It actually reminds me of a crocus flower. If you know what this flower is, please identify it with a comment below. Thanks!

This photo can be viewed either in the desert wildflower gallery, or the dial-up optimized desert wildflower gallery.

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Desert Chicory

I'm hoping I correctly identified this white daisy-like flower in this photo from Anza-Borrego desert; I believe it is desert chicory (rafinesquia neomexicana), but if I'm wrong, please let me know in a comment below.

Anyhow, these beauties really stood out because not many of the wildflowers were white.

View full-sized images in the desert flower gallery or the dial-up optimized desert flower gallery.

Gold Desert Flower and Caterpillar

Not only were the flowers spectacular in the Anza-Borrego desert, but so too were the caterpillars! Cleverly camouflaged against the gold flower was this spectacular caterpillar.

To see larger images of this photo depending on your internet connection, go to either the broadband desert flower gallery or the dial-up optimized desert flower gallery.

Blooming Cactus in Anza-Borrego Desert

Last weekend I went with a friend to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California to see the spring blooming of wildflowers. The park has had about 4" of rain this past rainy season which is a good average for that region so there was a pretty good display of desert flowers this spring.

We spent most of our time in Plum Canyon and were well rewarded for our efforts as there were many flowers blooming and the start of some cactus blooms too.

This is a photo of one of the cactus blooms. This cactus seems to tend to grow along the ground rather than upright, and the entire crown of the cactus is covered with a circle of flowers. So beautiful!

You can see this and other desert flowers in my desert flower photo gallery. For visitors with slower internet access, you may prefer to visit this dial-up optimized desert flower photo gallery.