Phoenix – Page 107

Buds and Blooms: Ocahui (Agave ocahui). The mast on this agave is a single immense inflorescence, about 10 feet tall (3 meters), with thousands of lemon-yellow florets. I plan to return in a few days to watch its progress.

Buds and Blooms: Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica).

Bonus etymology: As the species name suggests, the sap of this plant was historically used in Mexico as a folk remedy for sexually transmitted diseases.

Buds and Blooms: Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica).

Bonus etymology: As the species name suggests, the sap of this plant was historically used in Mexico as a folk remedy for sexually transmitted diseases.

Buds and Blooms: Yerba-mansa (Anemopsis californica).

All of the photos in this series were taken in recent days during neighborhood walks in Tempe, or at the desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

Buds and Blooms: Yerba-mansa (Anemopsis californica).

All of the photos in this series were taken in recent days during neighborhood walks in Tempe, or at the desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

Today’s Wildlife: Costa’s hummingbird (Calypte costae), in the Pima Canyon Unit of South Mountain Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona.

Today’s Wildlife: Harris’s antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii), in the Pima Canyon Unit of South Mountain Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona.

Early Morning Ramble: Scenes from a walk in Pima Canyon, in the South Mountain Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona. Please click any photo in the set for enlarged views.

1. Sunrise over Tempe.

2. Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and buckhorn cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa).

3. Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea) and foothills paloverde (Parkinsonia microphylla) on the hillside.

4. Paloverde blossoms.

5. Hohokam petroglyph panel on the trailside.

6. Tamarisk (Tamarix sp., probably T. chinensis).

7. Pima wash.