Archive for the ‘Sonoran Desert’ Tag
Yucca Blossoms — Image by kenne
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae.
It’s 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves
and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid)
parts of the Americas and the Caribbean. –Wikipedia
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Desert Mushroom (Podaxis pistillaris) — Image by kenne
This is probably the most common mushroom in the Sonoran Desert. It is found in desert environments worldwide. The fruiting body appears above the ground upon a woody stem within a few days after a soaking rain usually during the cooler seasons. It is fibrous and woody and the cap remains closed down around the gills and spores, presumably to protect them from extreme dry periods. (arizonensis.org)
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A Desert Morning In The Age Of Novel Coronavirus — Image by kenne
Midnight poems are bicycles
Taking us on safer journeys
Than jets
Quicker journeys
Than walking
But never as beautiful
A journey
As my back
Touching you under the quilt
Midnight poems
Sing a sweet song
Saying everything
Is all right
Everything
Is
Here for us
I reach out
To catch the laughter
The dog thinks
I need a kiss
Bicycles move
With the flow
Of the earth
Like a cloud
So quiet
In the October sky
Like licking ice cream
From a cone
Like knowing you
Will always
Be there
All day long I wait
For the sunset
The first star
The moon rise
I move
To a midnight
Poem
Called
You
Propping
Against
The dangers
— Bicycles by Nikki Giovanni
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March Sonoran Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
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Saguaro Cactus Forest — Image by kenne
How about a little hug
And kiss, my dear?
Oh no, we have to be careful
not to get the coronavirus.
— kenne
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Desert Chicory Wildflowers and Bee — Image by kenne
Popping up on the dry desert floor
New sharing space with the old
We are alive and well in the desert
Taking morning hikes in the cool air.
— kenne
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Star Ferns and Ressurection Plants On the Bluff Trail Above Sabino Creek — Image by kenne
Most people think of the desert as being a hot, dry and barren place which is totally inhospitable to the likes of ferns, mosses, and leafy plants. Nonetheless, all the above-mentioned species thrive here in the Sonoran Desert. There are many varieties of ferns growing in the desert climate. The desert ferns are true xerophytes (a plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, dry loving). These ferns have evolved several strategies to thrive in our warm, dry climate here in the southwest. They can shrivel and go dormant for many months, they begin life in rock fractures and other moist sheltered areas that provide a microclimate for early growth. Other characteristics of desert ferns are reduced surface area (small leaflets), leathery leaflets, thickened leaf margins, waxy, hairy or fuzzy coatings, and scales on stems. Does this sound like some of the water-saving adaptations of other desert plants? You bet! We’ve heard about these adaptations for many other desert plants such as creosote, mesquite, ocotillo, Brittle Bush, so why not the ferns too? (Debbie Bird, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist)
The plants at the top of the above image are Selaginella lepidophylla is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family. Known as a “resurrection plant”, it is renowned for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation. During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball, uncurling only when exposed to moisture.
— kenne
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