Desert in Bloom

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Trip  0

I always talk about the "green desert" down here.  Today I thought I should dedicate at least a part of the blog to showing you why I thing so.

Brittle Bush resplendent with yellow blooms, is tucked between lichen covered boulders

Ocotillo branches sport these brilliant red blossoms 

 Ocotillo (oak-a-tea-yo) is a strange plant.  Most tend to call it a cactus because of its spines, but it is not a true cactus.  The  Ocotillo can lie dormant for much of the year waiting for rainfall, and when the moisture is right it rewards you with a brilliant display of red-orange blossoms, and shortly thereafter the stalks grow tiny green leaves that cling to the main stem.

Ocotillo grows on the slopes above Shadow Ridge RV Park in Ajo, AZ

Joan composes a photo in a field of California Poppies near Hat Mountain

In the spring the poppies start to bloom, and we have found a few areas where there are so many of them, they form a field of yellow.

Large areas of poppies like this are somewhat rare though.   Most are mostly found singly or in small bunches.

They seem to be very hardy and will emerge from the rockiest areas.

An Organ Pipe cactus (left) and Teddy Bear Cholla (right)

 The Organ Pipe cactus is native to only a small part of the Sonoran Desert and the elevation and rainfall have to be just right to get it to grow

Cholla "balls" stick readily to any passing object

The Cholla (choy-ya) cactus, is much more hardy and grows just about everywhere.  Cholla puts out new growth that readily detaches from the main plant and hitch-hikes on any passing animal, or blows around on the ground with the wind.  The spines are very sharp and very fine annular rings on the spine make it very difficult to detach.  I simply used my boot to attempt to move the cholla ball off the path and it stuck well enough to my boot that I had to use my Multiplier to remove it.


The coloration and the sheer number of thorns give this plant a soft and "furry" look from a distance, but make no mistake they are vicious!  I have seen people try to shake a thorny ball loose from a shirt sleeve, only to have it  fly off and stick into the thigh or shin.  I have also seen them sticking to the legs and sides of burros in the wild.

Most hikers keep a plier tool handy because without one, you have to scrape the thorny ball off with a stick , and those can be hard to find in most cases.

Fairy Duster grows along the arroyo in Alamo Canyon

Desert Sand Verbena

Bougainvilla engulfs the fence in front of the Guest House B&B

My favorite of all plants here is not a native to the area, or even to the US.  Bougainvillia from South America is cultivated and grows throughout the town in big, bright, showy red blooms.