Two weeks ago I joined the local CNPS chapter for a trip out to Anza Borrego Desert State Park with botanical wizard, Larry Hendrickson. Our destination was Plum Canyon, one of the rocky canyons that drains the eastern face of San Diego County’s Laguna Mountains. Spring wildflowers were close to their peak, and Larry knew ’em all, including a sighting of an Arizona plant that hadn’t yet been described in California.
This first plant is the species that gives the canyon its name. Well, you’d guess it’s some sort of plum, but the common name of Prunus fremontii is actually “desert apricot.” Plum, apricot…close enough.
I went a little crazy with the camera, and below are some of that craziness. (I think I got all the IDs correct on these, but if I missed a few, let me know!)
Desert sun is your first impression, but plants were everywhere, blooming and not.
Subtly colored, powerfully scented: Desert lavender, Hyptis emoryi. This common plant is in the mint family–It helps explain its intense aroma whenever you touch the plant.
Near the desert lavender, Trixis californica.
Subtle dark blue-violet flowers of Indigo bush Parry Dalea, Psorothamnus Marina parryi. (Thanks to jimrob and Larry Hendrickson for the correction here!)
A very cool spurge, Chamaesyce polycarpa.
One of the things you notice is that the plants often grow in the company of other plants, separated by expanses of sharp shards of decomposed mountainside. It’s not a look that people generally cultivate in their gardens but it makes sense here. Larger plants help provide shelter to seedlings. I’d also guess that more seeds end up caught up in the low branches of shrubs than they do in the bare earth with rain beating down on them. The effect is a bit of an enthusiastic jumble of plants.
Speaking of garden-worthy plant combinations, I thought this composition of pale and silver-leaved plants and stems was a delicate mix of contrasting scale and textures.
Springtime in the desert means belly flowers galore…
A mile up the canyon, as you gain a ltitle altitude, the California junipers start up.
Many were going crazy with the juniper berries.
And a couple junipers had this bug. I’m really bad with my insects, so I’m just calling this a juniper bug. I’m sure it’s got a real name… Edit (March 28): Thanks to Katie for this bug ID: This critter definitely looks like a westÂern leaf-footed bug.
On the way home, climbing out of the desert, two differently-colored species of ceanothus provided spots of color along the sharp curves of Banner Grade. The lavender one was our fairly widespread C. tomentosus. But what was the white one? My carload of plant people just couldn’t stand not knowing. We had to stop and do a quick ID.
The slightly cupped leaves helped us identify this plant as Ceanothus greggi ssp. var. perplexans. Although known as “desert ceanothus” the plant didn’t get prolific until we started climbing near the 3,000 foot level.
This final photo is the plant in the landscape. How could we not stop for a closer look?
I like how you point out the company-loving plants. I read somewhere a long time ago that some plants actually change the soil characteristics (pH, phytohormones, physical means, etc.), which either repel or attract other species of plants. I don’t know much about desert plants, but I can make a guess that you have a western leaf-footed bug: http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/hemipt/Leptoglossus%20clypealus.htm
Your photo of the silver leafed plants and rocks is lovely.
I agree with Katie about the silver plants photo – what most of us don’t know is that the white “sticks” on the right are also a living plant. These stick plants aren’t all green, like “palo verde” (trans: green stick), Justicia or Ephedra. We saw as least four species of non-green “stick plants”, with species-specific colored stems – white, grey, purple, and turquoise with violet wash. They all had their tiny flowers tucked along the stems to prove they were alive.
Katie, yes! That definitely looks like the bug in question. Thanks very much for the help. As far as the soil, most definitely, this area would be just eroded granite or quartz if it were not for the plants.
Maggie, thank you! I try to steal little scenes from nature that I can use back home in my own garden.
Kay, I think a “stick garden” could be fun–white sticks, green sticks, purple ones, and that turquoise with violet one. I seem to appreciate differences better when the variables are reduced. I think here scientific and artistic minds can really operate alike…
Great post & photos, James! I’ve been thinking about an Anza Borrego trip after reading the very promising bloom reports from Theodore Payne & Desert USA. Anza Borrego SP is huge and I’ve only been to a few places there: Coyote Canyon, San Felipe Wash, Henderson Cyn. Rd., and Yaqui Well Nature Trail. Plum Canyon is new to me but, from your photos, looks like an excellent spot to see spring blooms. While not exactly showy, the Calyptridium parryi v. arizonicum was really intriguing because I never thought that pussypaws of any sort could be found in the desert – imagine that! My only encounters with Calyptridiums have been in montane habitats (C. monospermum up on Mt. San Jacinto, and C. umbellatum in the Eastern Sierras).
great post! seems like your timing was spot on! we hope to get out to joshua tree to camp in a few weeks. will compare notes!
James,
Incredible! Wish I had been along on your wildflower foray with such a great guide.
I felt awful about not making it to San Diego after all your helpful advice, and here you are recounting your Anza-Borrego adventure!
Were we there at the same time?? I took an off-road trip and saw a vast areas of the park, but not Plum Canyon (I was based in Borrego Springs).
Thanks for the I.D. on BAT: Also writing about time in the desert on Alice’s Garden Travel Buzz. Lots more posts to follow.
BTW: Can I join the ‘desert rats’ club;-0 I’m a convert!!
Rained out in Joshua Tree. Cut trip short by a few days, rained all the way North. Big Sur washed out so couldn’t take Hwy 1; disappointing.
Rain & flooding in Bay Area after return. Crazy weather.
Thank you so much for the information.
Ah! A carload of plant people is the only way to travel. With ordinary companions, you would have missed half of your “enthusiastic jumble of plants”.
Arleen, I maybe should properly call Plum Canyon a desert transition habitat since it’s fairly high up and abuts better watered areas. That might begin to explain the presence of the pussypaws, though the fact that it hasn’t been observed in other places in the state is pretty exciting. I found it interesting that the plant with one of the most compelling stories was so tiny.
Laguna, have a fantastic time! Although J-tree is higher up it should be coming online pretty soon. I’ve never been there for spring bloom and look forward to what you’ll see there.
Alice, the park is huge and amazing. Plum Canyon was probably really different from most of the places you visited which were probably lower down in elevation. Many of the plants you’ve been describing–once you get beyond the common brittlebrush and ocotillo–have been different from what I encountered. Although it’s easy to get a taste of Anza-Borrego from pavement, it’s only when you get off the beaten track that the place begins to reveal itself. I think you’ve earned your stripes!
Ricki, there’s no better company than a carload of plantaholics enabling our collective addictions… What a great day!
Your Indigo Bush is actually Marina parryi.
Great photos. Thanks for joining us in Plum Canyon. Let’s all do it again next year, maybe a little later in the season…
Larry
JimRob, thanks for the correction! I’ve fixed it above.
Larry, thanks to you for another memorable trip. And thanks for help with some of the further IDs. I think the names are now all correct above.
How fabulous to get to walk around such a wonderful place with someone who knows what everything is. I once went on a memorable hike through the foothills of Snowdonia with a woman who knew every bird by its call and every plant. Magical. Also gives the lie to the idea that “desert” = “barren”.
I have the fondest memories of Anza Borrego–I lost my first tooth while camping there. Did you know that the tooth fairy likes to go out to Anza Borrego, too? All those gorgeous flowers remind me of my mom–queen of the CA desert wildflower field guide.
Janet, your Snowdonia hike sounds wonderful. I still don’t know the name of every plant in my garden, let alone all the plants in my nearby wild landscape. It really shows a great love and dedication to get so familiar with a place.
Colleen, the tooth fairy is everywhere isn’t s/he? Sounds like your mom shared some good botanical genes with you. Hopefully the tooth fairy was as generous.
I’m a plant lover that arrived at your page via Tom Chester’s web site. Through plants, I’ve become an entomology enthusiast. Just wanted to let you know there’s lot’s more info and images on the Western Leaf-Footed Bug at the BugGuide web site. In particular, I recommend the excellent post here, and the very informative University of Illinois web page here.
Aaron, thanks for the links. They’re great!