California Desert In Bloom - "Brittle Bush" (#2 In A Series)
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." - T.S Eliot
We heard there were lots of flowers in the desert.
Last weekend, the Anza Borrego Desert seemed full of cars and people. Reports of a riot of wildflowers drew them all. An abundance of rain in southern California no doubt contributed to ideal conditions for a blooming desert.
I am a "camera hacker," and I'm trying to learn how to use my Canon EOS M mirrorless camera, so I took it with me to the desert.
Apparently, everyone else had heard as well.
There was bumper to bumper flower-hunter traffic on the road to Anza Borrego. Alongside the road were endless clusters of beautiful yellow flowers.
Brittle Bush
Original Work by @creatr
I believe these are "Brittle Bush."
Edit: I had previously mis-identified this as a "Desert Sunflower."
My identification is based on a photo from this website. Wikipedia seems to confirm their identity, and furthermore gives me the proper botanical name for these lovely blossoms: Encelia, an annual plant in the family Asteraceae.
Large clusters of these bright yellow blooms were also pretty much "bumper to bumper" all along the highway to the desert.
You can see several clusters lined up here.
Brittle Bush
Original Work by @creatr
These flowers have long stems.
Looking across the guard rail, you can see the underside of many blossoms, all supported by long stems that enable them to aim themselves towards the sun. This is a fascinating phenomenon of plant life known as phototropism.
Brittle Bush
Original Work by @creatr
The flowers seem to prefer being on the edge of the road,
unlike the hundreds of people who were visiting Hellhole Canyon that day. I'm just speculating, but perhaps they thrive on the "extra" carbon dioxide in automobile exhaust?
If you "right-click" on the image below, "open in new window," and zoom in, you can see some dozens of the hundreds of people who were walking the canyon floor. In this shot, my Canon, with its f-stop set wide, has the people in focus and the flowers a bit of a blur.
Brittle Bush
Original Work by @creatr
Here is a closeup of a brittle bush.
Brittle Bush
Original Work by @creatr
If you want a really close look at the blossoms,
try clicking on the link below. That will take you to http://unsplash.com where you can then click the "Download" button and get the full-resolution image. Everything on Unsplash is licensed CC0, meaning that you may use and reuse it in any way you choose without restriction.
https://unsplash.com/@creator?photo=ukYG3vDOsAw
I hope to post some more desert wildflower photos as I am able to identify them.
You can check out other posts in this series here:
Brittle Bush
Bigelow’s Monkeyflower
The Ocotillo
Purple Tansy
~FIN~
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
⬇️To Check Out @creatr's World⬇️CLICK Each Image Below⬇️
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Yeahhh california, the place was i cooming some day. Hope that!
Hello @akkadia, thanks for stopping by. California has good and bad aspects, but I hope you will be able to visit one day to see for yourself. ;)
I wonder what they get from the side of the road? It must be the carbon dioxide! Beautiful flowers!
I think you are probably right about the carbon dioxide! :)
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As always, I appreciate that you have noticed! :)
Beautiful.
Thank you. Yes, they are amazing.
I hear the desert is pretty spectacular this spring... my wife and I used to go to Joshua Tree several times a year, and occasionally we'd catch "one of those years" where the desert was in bloom... pretty spectacular! Thanks for sharing your photos!
You're welcome.
I have to admit, I've probably never seen it "in full glory," but even the little bit I've seen has been pretty nice. I probably should have started going out to check things out when I was younger! ;)
Nowadays we have the internet to tell us at the last minute where the best place to check out might be. :D
Thanks for stopping and commenting! :) :) :)