Yesterday I took a hike into a remore area to locate and document a
mutated specimen of Chaparral Honeysuckle that I had encountered last year.
The weather was exceptionally mild, having had a small low pressure system pass
through early Thursday that cooled things down and dropped a good amount of
rain in the chaparral country to the north and east of Phoenix.
We have a number of showy wild flowers in the chaparral country, and
despite the drought conditions we're still having a good show, though you have
to be more determined than usual to find them. The first one I encountered was
Golden Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121383009/in/photostream
soon followed by the poisonous Barestem Larkspur (Delphinium scaposum):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121382959/in/photostream
When the vegetation became denser, I came across the only speciman I know
of Southwestern Chokecherry (Prunus serotina var. virens):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121383167/in/photostream
A succulent generally known as Live Forever was found everywhere, all of
which were in the early stage of blooming. This one was particularly
photogenic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121383011/in/photostream
though I had to use the built-in flash at 1/16 power to reduce the harshness of
the shadows.
Much to my surprise, I came across a large number of specimens of Diamond
Clarkia (Clarkia rhombodiae). Most of them were past their prime, but this one
was good enough to record:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121382987/in/photostream
While crossing the ridge that separated the watersheds, I came across a
nice specimen of Doubting Mariposa (Calichrtus ambiguus):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7121382961/in/photostream
There are five species of Calichortus in the area, and in a good year you
can encounter all five in a single day.
The destination for lunch was a desert oasis by the name of Upper Sheep
Creek Spring. Along the way you are afforded a sweeping view of Lion Mountain:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6975349672/in/photostream
and a mile later you arrive at the spring itself:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6975350748/in/photostream
Not much time left before the daytime temperatures prohibit journeys such
as this. Then I'll have to resort to looking for orchids at higher elevations.
Chris
Chris
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