tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19173588397772743092024-02-18T22:04:24.440-08:00Kat TracksProwling
the Suburban Fringe
of Phoenix, ArizonaKatherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-71036615415972954702016-03-10T22:02:00.002-08:002016-06-24T06:15:55.853-07:00Cool Water Pipe in Agua Fria National Monument<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_jYuiIl-bbi0Fswj09GP_wJDQvHXFiDGX4_e9fvqHxKH2fRX2HGBfAa1r27ERwCFGCSn4rhd9T3TAl2CMazRmYYxznM0jDwMnrWWETzl7yGvPi5Q65j2j06n9ptYj_cBnvaHAFUA9qY/s1600/KD0_0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_jYuiIl-bbi0Fswj09GP_wJDQvHXFiDGX4_e9fvqHxKH2fRX2HGBfAa1r27ERwCFGCSn4rhd9T3TAl2CMazRmYYxznM0jDwMnrWWETzl7yGvPi5Q65j2j06n9ptYj_cBnvaHAFUA9qY/s400/KD0_0729.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Less than an hour north of Phoenix, cool water flows through Agua Fria National Monument in a deep canyon that winds from north to south through the desert landscape. Literature on this Monument, which was designated in 2000 by President bill Clinton, touts the importance of preserving prehistoric remains of Ancient Puebloans scattered throughout the windswept mesas.<br />
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We were surprised to find equally fascinating historic features on a recent hike through the canyon from Badger Spring trailhead to Sunset Point. Our guidebook, nor the maps and websites about the Monument, made no mention of the ~2-mile long 16" diameter pipeline that spans both sides of the canyon, crossing at one point via a timber brace perched on top of a granite pinnacle. Dozens of dry-stacked stone pillars support the pipe. Where there was not enough flat ground to work with, the pipe is suspended from cliffs by thick cables. This major engineering feat was accomplished for the benefit of providing water and power to the Richinbar Mine, which churned out gold and silver ore for more than 40 years, 1896-1937. The rusted remains of the pumps and a generating station are scattered below the rim near the old town site of Richinbar, currently a private inholding in the Monument, where about a hundred people made a living over a century ago.<br />
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Deep history is equally stunning. Strewn throughout the perennial stream, there are giant water-polished granite boulders filled with chunks of even older basalt.<br />
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The hike is a strenuous 10-mile boulder hopping adventure, but well worth the journey, especially on a warm day in the desert when wading and swimming in the many deep pools would be pure pleasure.<br />
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-46889401509848355692016-02-26T10:16:00.001-08:002016-02-26T13:07:19.620-08:00Wild Pennywort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcr9e8aLa_prtb79MNd1QPbNQQ3hbJE2AT7xNEYSIPAbJ8okdgGltXMvXJX5i5cQqr1UIpdsRVMdCj1BQrxaez_cB9ZBBNoCrFu9sC9EgMgBsZNX-6ZbAZ3V-78jZQMMYqB6MejupLpc/s1600/image002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcr9e8aLa_prtb79MNd1QPbNQQ3hbJE2AT7xNEYSIPAbJ8okdgGltXMvXJX5i5cQqr1UIpdsRVMdCj1BQrxaez_cB9ZBBNoCrFu9sC9EgMgBsZNX-6ZbAZ3V-78jZQMMYqB6MejupLpc/s400/image002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A year ago, I wrote a short blog about <a href="http://katherinedarrow.blogspot.com/2015/01/bebida-de-pennywort.html">Pennywort</a> after sampling a drink I bought at a local Asian market. Pennywort showed up in my world again a few weeks ago during a visit to <a href="http://www.wildlifeviewingareas.com/wv-app/ParkDetail.aspx?ParkID=116">Tres Rios Wetlands</a> in south Phoenix, where white pelicans and great blue herons are some of the many charismatic avian residents. To my surprise, one of the dominant plants floating around the edges of the ponds there is a close relative of the popular edible and medicinal Pennywort, also known as Gotu Kola in medicinal plant lore. Even more surprising, this species seems to be relatively new to Arizona! Here is what I've learned so far:<br />
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<i>Hydrocotyle umbellata</i>, commonly known as Manyflower Marsh Pennywort, is an aquatic emergent that grows in slow moving water, marshes, ponds and in some regions, lawns. The plant is broadly established in southern California and in Texas, as well as throughout the southeastern and eastern states up to Nova Scotia, Canada. Large populations are growing in ditches and ponds at City of Phoenix Tres Rios Wetlands, a managed wetland project that uses treated effluent from the nearby 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant. The bright green floating mats of Pennywort leaves are clearly visible in recent images on Google Earth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjve3yFON_YVGSqX5iv5diNGNty3otOnP05jduttXran3HmUBtdzRVVA0DjJPboRljBC4XsnycZFXP6bei65fvbeUhvM-Q7uTL_CGHBJ8041jf76PIBTYzfYPBEO6ty8iFtxQvHqlifpv8/s1600/Tres+Rios+Wetlands.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjve3yFON_YVGSqX5iv5diNGNty3otOnP05jduttXran3HmUBtdzRVVA0DjJPboRljBC4XsnycZFXP6bei65fvbeUhvM-Q7uTL_CGHBJ8041jf76PIBTYzfYPBEO6ty8iFtxQvHqlifpv8/s400/Tres+Rios+Wetlands.tiff" width="400" /></a></div>
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Previously collected specimens near this site and at the <a href="http://riosalado.audubon.org/visit/rio-salado-habitat-restoration-area">City of Phoenix Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area </a>demonstration wetlands, about ten miles east of Tres Rios, were incorrectly identified as <i>Hydrocotyle verticillata</i>, a closely related species. The two species are most easily distinguished by the the different kinds of flowering stalks: <i>H. umbellata</i> has "umbels," shaped like tiny umbrellas; <i>H. verticillata</i> has "verticels," which are vertically arranged on a slender spike. Both species have round, glossy, peltate (like a lily pad), leaves with ruffled edges. The plant spreads from submerged stems rooted in mud to create extensive floating mats along edges of ponds at Tres Rios wetlands.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWT69DHjA-IW9CASWmb6W_7thpIDRwzFy3AfKr64C4ZW5aqlsTGc-9MSk_DrbpdRbFLVEfVjJvttI0ni_ahrk7vjIGKvnz0CKnxMRhRY2zEdMT2Ron8wW6SeeevQP3RE6xVNVgJS0ChU/s1600/image001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWT69DHjA-IW9CASWmb6W_7thpIDRwzFy3AfKr64C4ZW5aqlsTGc-9MSk_DrbpdRbFLVEfVjJvttI0ni_ahrk7vjIGKvnz0CKnxMRhRY2zEdMT2Ron8wW6SeeevQP3RE6xVNVgJS0ChU/s400/image001.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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No one is certain how it so recently appeared in Arizona, although it could have been here all along and nobody noticed. This is unlikely, however, since botanists have been scrutinizing the region for more than one hundred years. More likely, the plant may have been introduced as part of wetland restoration efforts along the Salt River. It is also possible that Pennywort was introduced by migratory birds that carry mud and seeds on their feet.<br />
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Keep your eyes peeled for other populations of this charismatic and opportunistic wetland species!<br />
Like the Asian Pennywort, this one is also <a href="http://www.eattheweeds.com/a-pennywort-for-your-thoughts-2/">edible</a> and may even increase your memory skills.Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-31090009047732594182015-01-30T03:24:00.001-08:002015-02-27T01:51:45.478-08:00Bebida de Pennywort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0c-DLv2JoKSXCYyBLqHREkDYnHAcT3H1JYJ4etNedG9iZedDLr_8hne1MbcpQn_vKOG5z6ol-mvWEKf9qEotr3GO6PbpkULhVZ8htzaR-j3k38ekq4yZBEr2NYh2CVAcMagCkDlZpQy0/s1600/IMG_1768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0c-DLv2JoKSXCYyBLqHREkDYnHAcT3H1JYJ4etNedG9iZedDLr_8hne1MbcpQn_vKOG5z6ol-mvWEKf9qEotr3GO6PbpkULhVZ8htzaR-j3k38ekq4yZBEr2NYh2CVAcMagCkDlZpQy0/s1600/IMG_1768.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Feeling adventurous in an Asian market the other day, I decided that I would buy one thing completely foreign to me and give it a try. Having adopted a vegetarian diet about a decade ago made my choices a bit easier. I passed by the stacks of fish sauce, ogled at the gruesome display of pork uteri, pork bungs (slang for rectum) and other assorted animal parts, and wondered about what it took to harvest the creatures now filling freezers packed with squid rings and frog legs. <br />
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Overcome with thirst, I contemplated choices in the canned drink display: Mangosteen or white fungus drink? Coconut or guava? The latter two have long been adopted into the standard line of American refreshments, so I reached for a cheerfully illustrated can of Pennywort Drink, aka <a href="http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/02/nuoc-rau-ma-vietnamese-pennywort-juice.html">Nuac Rau Ma</a> in Vietnamese. Back home, I poured the beverage into a wine glass, held it up to the light, whiffed and swished. This brand looked and smelled a lot like bong water to me. Having never actually drank bong water, I cannot compare the taste, but it was sickeningly sweet. Sugar, it seems, was the main ingredient.<br />
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However, I was intrigued to learn that Pennywort (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centella_asiatica">Centella asiatica</a></i>) is more commonly offered as a medicinal herb in the U.S., usually referred to as Gotu Kola. Gotu kola is a Hindi name for the herb, a common ingredient in memory enhancing tonics and pills. In the Indian tradition of Ayurvedic medicine, Gotu Kola is revered as a spiritually beneficial plant, aiding in meditation and therefore attainment of enlightened states of mind. As with many herbal remedies, the <a href="http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-gotu-kola.html">curative powers of Gotu Kola</a> are legendary, used to treat everything from wounds to male impotence, as well as neurological disorders.<br />
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The plant grows wild in wetlands and is especially common in sewage ditches throughout southeast Asia. This does nothing to calm my mind, knowing that toilet facilities are often coincident with roadside ditches in Asia, so after a few delicate sips, I tossed the brew. Next time, I'll go for the mangosteen juice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-UK3-Cp9-ODSMWYBXdAwYOihGP2qmulVlcKZQGeNXxclQh9X9pYBeRjl9sAIj6sKF643BMYWdpz5BQzHIIf3BGqRk5cGt_Ay7nQvyqMEDfEh00MEbpLmxGF48OL6_OuyeC_hb_72RhU/s1600/IMG_1769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-UK3-Cp9-ODSMWYBXdAwYOihGP2qmulVlcKZQGeNXxclQh9X9pYBeRjl9sAIj6sKF643BMYWdpz5BQzHIIf3BGqRk5cGt_Ay7nQvyqMEDfEh00MEbpLmxGF48OL6_OuyeC_hb_72RhU/s1600/IMG_1769.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-78203461319611553222015-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:002015-01-23T09:33:16.729-08:00The Yum Approach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="background-color: transparent;">“There are only two mantras, yum and yuck; mine is yum.” </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><span style="background-color: transparent;">-Tom Robbins</span></h1>
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On a visit to the Seattle area back in August, we were fortunate to arrive in the middle of peak blackberry season. We took the "yum approach" to dealing with the thorny hedges that armor every roadside around Puget Sound, stopping to feast on fruit and gather enough to bake a pie. As we munched, it was easy to imagine the edenic world based on the virtues of berries and briars advocated by Bernard Mickey Wrangle in Tom Robbins' treatise to <i>Rubus armeniacus</i> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Life_with_Woodpecker">"Still Life With Woodpecker."</a> Plenty of food to feed the masses and brew sweet wine; shelter from the elements provided by arches of sturdy stems and broad leaves; elegant dusky-hued light filtering through the bowers; blackberries for biofuel; a natural thorny defense system. Although the plant is considered a "yucky" <a href="http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/blackberry.aspx">noxious invasive weed</a> in the region, even vegetation management agencies have surrendered to these vigorous vines, and no longer require landowners to exercise any attempt to control them. </div>
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Plants like these make me think that perhaps the species we label as pests are the ones we need the most. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOP6W9NmLw3zoxa9yjCXqCrn5_QE4sORCPSonr-Z2Q1l52Yln-dpJ-LSPJmq4b5SX7OJLgVeiKzYgLaMuN1UL3uw7l-dTEmKKN5_jX__GOMiVxR6kHBC5Sd1VfqNchj8IS5m7Aaw-KQ7E/s1600/blackberry+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOP6W9NmLw3zoxa9yjCXqCrn5_QE4sORCPSonr-Z2Q1l52Yln-dpJ-LSPJmq4b5SX7OJLgVeiKzYgLaMuN1UL3uw7l-dTEmKKN5_jX__GOMiVxR6kHBC5Sd1VfqNchj8IS5m7Aaw-KQ7E/s1600/blackberry+flowers.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-10003275234671172572015-01-16T16:10:00.003-08:002015-01-23T09:16:59.051-08:0024 Carats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpvNEdHLBQXUY4mgh6zs2h4hkBKGJ9svDVGF9jqaJ7rty9CYTchcS8RkG2nSxdXqhRJQjsXA9Jy_7IJX2K0SLWuCwe3AnKVTzvymng7c9QUxkskhbxVXTM4KbNFW-nMd-aqAvmSK4KYQ/s1600/24+karats-auto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpvNEdHLBQXUY4mgh6zs2h4hkBKGJ9svDVGF9jqaJ7rty9CYTchcS8RkG2nSxdXqhRJQjsXA9Jy_7IJX2K0SLWuCwe3AnKVTzvymng7c9QUxkskhbxVXTM4KbNFW-nMd-aqAvmSK4KYQ/s1600/24+karats-auto.jpg" height="299" width="320" /></a></div>
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Weighing about 200 milligrams each, the seeds of a Carob Tree (<i>Ceratonia siliqua</i>) have been used as a unit of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carat_(mass)">mass</a> for hundreds of years, and also became an expression of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carat_(purity)"> purity</a> for certain mineral alloys. Today we use finer measures for gems and minerals, but no jewel could have been more precious than the tree that bore these seeds. Providing shade, lumber, food and fodder, a single carob tree would have been a valuable asset in anyone's territory, especially if it was a female tree. Carobs are "dioecious," meaning that an individual is either a pollen-bearing "male" or a seedpod-bearing "female."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhxqVurtKf5JUXogr1ilQGoZ4ik9GOlL-pI3_Ljd08KetvjMA9PGGhnlegfbENO4w-yruPrviX54OREVedribeeKV4Dzh7CM636psY3ehgPAMC5xFuxUB-fyl5JdQ_-y4sYCWhymgVGo/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhxqVurtKf5JUXogr1ilQGoZ4ik9GOlL-pI3_Ljd08KetvjMA9PGGhnlegfbENO4w-yruPrviX54OREVedribeeKV4Dzh7CM636psY3ehgPAMC5xFuxUB-fyl5JdQ_-y4sYCWhymgVGo/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A large Carob tree in central Phoenix</td></tr>
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Carobs were imported from the Mediterranean region as ornamental trees and are common in older neighborhoods of the Phoenix metro area. They bloom during the winter months here, producing long (4-6") catkins with small green "female" flowers that look like tiny elephant trunks. Male flowers are star-shaped with five simple stamens. Both kinds of flowers release a slightly putrid aroma that serves to attract pollinators. In order to produce seedpods, pollinators need to navigate from a male tree to a female tree with a full load of pollen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carob pod, female catkin & male catkin</td></tr>
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Another name for carob is "locust," a common term for many kinds of trees in the bean family. It was the seed pods of the locust tree, not insects, that are referred to in the Bible as a source of food, also known as St. John's bread:<br />
<i>"….and his meat was locusts and wild honey."</i> Matthew 3:4<br />
<i>"And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate…"</i> Luke 15:16<br />
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The pods are the source for sweet edible flour that has been concocted into products marketed as a chocolate substitute. But any discerning chocolate gourmand knows that these efforts generally result in nothing resembling chocolate except in color, and is best left to swine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carob leaves and catkins</td></tr>
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-89788890533829850582015-01-09T10:34:00.001-08:002015-01-09T19:38:01.523-08:00A is for Asphodel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"Others in Elysian valleys dwell,</i></div>
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<i>Resting weary limbs at last on beds of asphodel."</i></div>
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-from <i>The Lotos-Eaters</i> by Lord Alfred Tennyson</div>
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While botanizing at the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve recently, we spotted a strange plant thriving in a shallow muddy basin near the Apache Wash trailhead. About two feet tall and sporting dozens of tiny white, bell-shaped flowers and a rosette of long, thin leaves, it was unlike any I'd seen in this desert before. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A single specimen of Onion Weed mingles with Sahara Mustard, <br />
Filaree and Globe Mallow in a shallow mud pit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long thin leaves of Onion Weed are hollow and slightly succulent.</td></tr>
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After a lot of wandering around in plant keys, ranging from the tome of Arizona Flora to local garden center websites, we finally pinpointed this lovely member of the Aloe Family (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthorrhoeaceae">Xanthorrhoeaceae</a>) as Onion Weed (<i>Asphodelus fistulosus</i>). This species is a cousin to more than a dozen species of Asphodel, all of which are native to the Mediterranean region. Onion weed only superficially resembles true onions, and doesn't have an onion smell at all, lacking any noticeable fragrance. The rosette of long, smooth, hollow leaves does remind of onions, garlic, leeks and their relations though, which differ most distinctively in having a globe-shaped flowering head. The family includes many popular ornamental species such as Bulbine and Haworthia, as well as the Aloes. Unfortunately, this species has been dubbed a noxious weed on several continents, including North America and Australia, because it rapidly colonizes disturbed ground and is not palatable to livestock. Large roadside populations are common in southeastern Arizona.</div>
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How it got here, far from any other known population, is anybody's guess. Did it arrive on duck feet after monsoon rains created puddles in the desert? Or did it come on the treads of heavy equipment that was used to help transform this patch of desert into a parking lot? Perhaps a sentimental gardener tossed a few seeds by the roadside to see if they would grow. </div>
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However they arrived, the plant has many intriguing ethnobotanical associations. White Asphodel (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodelus_albus">Asphodelus albus</a></i>), which is a jumbo version of Onion Weed (growing to about twice times its size with larger (1.5" diam.) flowers), is a legendary plant in Homer's Odyssey and earlier Greek and Egyptian mythologies. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodel_Meadows">Asphodel Meadows</a> represent the ethereal world of the afterlife. Depending on which story you are attracted to, they are the heavenly home, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium">Elysian fields</a>, of heroes and goddesses, an eternal Eden for ordinary folk, or the fate of unfortunate souls held in limbo at the gateway to the underworld. </div>
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Asphodel plants also serve <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodelus">numerous uses for mortals</a>: leaves and stalks are used to build huts by nomadic tribal people, the Tauregs, in North Africa; edible buds and roots are savored throughout the Meditteranean region; leaves are used for basketry and cheese making in Italy; abundant nectar is transformed by bees into a prized delicate honey. Asphodel also made it into the annals of Harry Potter as an ingredient in a powerful sleeping potion called Drought of Living Death. </div>
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Whether you are fascinated by plant systematics, Greek legend or the intriguing transformations in plant geography wrought by inter-continental trade, Asphodel has something to offer. If nothing else, it's a pleasure to behold and just might become part of your personal paradise. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRTrHnrfB8ROibI4jZaUvrYHlboyeQHRD82EFTKCKBdQ9H7OmgBCTYDFwIFdE8fKw1haBGz4K7JbaA_XFUhrRTf5-1u4DJxwxo3jwmhv22bh6M-79Dlc2FNU17lVJxWOKilYnNRy9zlo/s1600/Mandala+XLV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRTrHnrfB8ROibI4jZaUvrYHlboyeQHRD82EFTKCKBdQ9H7OmgBCTYDFwIFdE8fKw1haBGz4K7JbaA_XFUhrRTf5-1u4DJxwxo3jwmhv22bh6M-79Dlc2FNU17lVJxWOKilYnNRy9zlo/s1600/Mandala+XLV.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Over the past six weeks I've been experimenting with forms and tools to create mandalas, or circular designs, during a 100 Day </span><a href="http://collagediva.typepad.com/collagediva/100mandala.html" style="text-align: left;">"Mandala Challenge"</a><span style="text-align: left;"> started by artists Kathryn Costa and Megan Warren. This may seem like a stretch to relate to suburban natural history, but it does, because ultimately, my images are inspired by forms I find in nature. Today I paused to look at how my drawings had morphed depending on tools I used, color palettes I chose, and the basic shapes that each drawing began with. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECeVEcRR-VcBBsxc6tCfRHz6uFPoUnci5kxnoQceX220egyxdIeZNGPJGlaEo1PlXYhWmZYYKqTVDISS5tI58xnWVw06nCJ_v-sVVWFH_NqTf2S73HS9A3UjbkUtrzWbMwQpAevKcP6I/s1600/Mandala+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECeVEcRR-VcBBsxc6tCfRHz6uFPoUnci5kxnoQceX220egyxdIeZNGPJGlaEo1PlXYhWmZYYKqTVDISS5tI58xnWVw06nCJ_v-sVVWFH_NqTf2S73HS9A3UjbkUtrzWbMwQpAevKcP6I/s1600/Mandala+I.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">At first I was inspired by a formulaic approach suggested by an accomplished mandala artist who has been practicing mandala art for years, </span><a href="http://www.magamerlina.com/2014/05/mehndi-inspired-mandala-tutorial.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Maga Merlina</a><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">. This is my very first mandala using a tutorial she posted on her website. Maga Merlina's work continues to amaze me, because for me it is so hard to draw a circle freehand!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiV15F2wW7gMlixt1e6Czgu0I4v4JlnUN7BdwCG2Sak-futxS1gC4x3vRXXDokndj5ItJ8iEJJc88UGb_9iYIeSBgNh3HD5ZzEdxYBkJzsc4iRy23p0C0752-IrlhodbNuG0RNdaSix4/s1600/Mandala+IX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiV15F2wW7gMlixt1e6Czgu0I4v4JlnUN7BdwCG2Sak-futxS1gC4x3vRXXDokndj5ItJ8iEJJc88UGb_9iYIeSBgNh3HD5ZzEdxYBkJzsc4iRy23p0C0752-IrlhodbNuG0RNdaSix4/s1600/Mandala+IX.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Nine days later, my forms, shapes and tools (a set of gel pens and a yellow highlighter) hadn't changed much. I was learning to appreciate how the mandala drawing practice helped me to focus and to let go of trying to make my drawings "perfect." A little bleed here and a little coloring outside the lines did not matter when looking at the whole.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uky35aeWTLtgQSKRM9FKdq2UNoV7iXsT4qQpWBvH8oWVnKWNTfMIklR28G1bBFYzqdUzGNcooAQ9cX5kzfGS9hvZCUkVVo2wXgzYaEe8VZN2Q-mOengmD5bsFiFKHmJtptZ-MhNhH7s/s1600/Mandala+XVIII.jpg" height="241" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">After three weeks, I started to experiment with incorporating natural forms into the mandala formula. I also invested in a set of graphic artist fine point pens. In this one, I was inspired by a desert marigold flower</span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"> blooming in my backyard. I decided not to color it because it seemed just right in black and white!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHhYh-0GgFfPbqBXkvG1oRrFmBqko6t5DM7gXUzoQa0VEsqGdsY8TNmwEOm8HpBO6EW8rujcBGYw2f_-hzmg8MGRE-XgVWQXEIb_jBG3Jj75rFkBUXrNwwp0jB8lb2sQXEYFmLqNUtpo/s1600/Mandala+XXIV.jpg" height="244" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few days later, I discovered the joy of using brush markers, which changed my color palette quite a bit. In this one, I was inspired by an evening primrose flower</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppwz-o5raAisK8NHaPMlwdVvuaXFubN_3vL64Z-OHgQRsdiBqTMe22mwaYoWzHRKBTdXxuNnsIr3qlvutvtNoHXoN1yOf9_lCs4pfmqWiut8FdITZ1at5PbnYMFvihcVWO0HpckgvB9w/s1600/Mandala+XXXI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppwz-o5raAisK8NHaPMlwdVvuaXFubN_3vL64Z-OHgQRsdiBqTMe22mwaYoWzHRKBTdXxuNnsIr3qlvutvtNoHXoN1yOf9_lCs4pfmqWiut8FdITZ1at5PbnYMFvihcVWO0HpckgvB9w/s1600/Mandala+XXXI.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">During an on-line Mandala Magic course offered by Scottish artist </span><a href="http://www.juliegibbons.com/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Julie Gibbons</a><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">, I learned a new formula based on the patterns of lotus blossoms. I like this methodological approach because it is very simple, but offers endless variation depending on how you choose to color your design.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7zjnOITpunJ8klbiuoE5OI9Itiy1CqWJf_ir6FOWH4Tf6CvwT30KsniEZguRP_ZTfSQH1LnpSSdlpJxzKt80mp0wukvOb9ZIKMHbpU_trptE1ad3EyHsU_iXZdPn8QT5G04v1Zi3Vj0/s1600/Mandala+XXXIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7zjnOITpunJ8klbiuoE5OI9Itiy1CqWJf_ir6FOWH4Tf6CvwT30KsniEZguRP_ZTfSQH1LnpSSdlpJxzKt80mp0wukvOb9ZIKMHbpU_trptE1ad3EyHsU_iXZdPn8QT5G04v1Zi3Vj0/s1600/Mandala+XXXIV.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">By Day 34, I decided to combine the original formulaic approach with the lotus design and a floral center. I also discovered that I really enjoy working with colored pencils, which expanded my color palette dramatically! Still can't draw a circle. :(</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudmzhcCaIn_fMH1OtvBVJ-Ty1cQcyHduu6Bl_o36dza1YHsfShQbFszx23vtbwIatdHWG4JBK2vDaDB8eRHv7ycW6V9bubE1JOgOTEbvyC8zi6L3Dp6HRfn70OPCbh0JWf1AQixQnJQA/s1600/Mandala+XXXV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudmzhcCaIn_fMH1OtvBVJ-Ty1cQcyHduu6Bl_o36dza1YHsfShQbFszx23vtbwIatdHWG4JBK2vDaDB8eRHv7ycW6V9bubE1JOgOTEbvyC8zi6L3Dp6HRfn70OPCbh0JWf1AQixQnJQA/s1600/Mandala+XXXV.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Something snapped the next day and I went back to a very basic mandala form, the spiral. This was partly because I was trying to draw while traveling in a car, so it was too bumpy to do anything very detailed. But in the process I realized, my own style was beginning to emerge, which is much more organic. I felt a new sense of freedom and creativity blossoming!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yQISqsblXnKRwcrDUGybXoCQT0MXv6t9-fdTPGUjBPMZ8U-8WZ0xEBp2R4aqSewiidU3M5nD1S6EMhg9F7Dypi8nDcza71dpjQHvpnFJUjzi_XWsmh2zpjRRW3uaxOG-pHpacJfpoQw/s1600/Mandala+XLIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yQISqsblXnKRwcrDUGybXoCQT0MXv6t9-fdTPGUjBPMZ8U-8WZ0xEBp2R4aqSewiidU3M5nD1S6EMhg9F7Dypi8nDcza71dpjQHvpnFJUjzi_XWsmh2zpjRRW3uaxOG-pHpacJfpoQw/s1600/Mandala+XLIV.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Rapid metamorphosis continued to happen over the next few days. I created this mandala based on the shape of a thin crescent moon. This was also made while traveling in a car, but I really LIKE the organic, not-at-all "perfect" lines and shapes.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRTrHnrfB8ROibI4jZaUvrYHlboyeQHRD82EFTKCKBdQ9H7OmgBCTYDFwIFdE8fKw1haBGz4K7JbaA_XFUhrRTf5-1u4DJxwxo3jwmhv22bh6M-79Dlc2FNU17lVJxWOKilYnNRy9zlo/s1600/Mandala+XLV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRTrHnrfB8ROibI4jZaUvrYHlboyeQHRD82EFTKCKBdQ9H7OmgBCTYDFwIFdE8fKw1haBGz4K7JbaA_XFUhrRTf5-1u4DJxwxo3jwmhv22bh6M-79Dlc2FNU17lVJxWOKilYnNRy9zlo/s1600/Mandala+XLV.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Today, which is day 45 for me, I created a mandala in black ink, colored pencil, water color and metallic marker inspired by the leafy rosette of a winged buckwheat</span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"> I photographed in Canyonlands, Utah last weekend. </span></td></tr>
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The entire process fascinates me for so many reasons. It is teaching me better focus, to experiment and to notice patterns in the natural world around me. But it is also teaching me to appreciate how we all evolve in the way we think and do things. Sometimes we change very slowly. Sometimes we have leaps of awareness. Sometimes we combine information from many sources to create new realizations. This is also very much like the process of biological evolution, which combines and recombines genetic material to create new and completely unique lifeforms over the millennia.<br />
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Earlier this year, back in February, I visited a favorite <a href="http://deemhills.blogspot.com/2013/08/toad-season.html">toad-spotting</a> area along Skunk Creek wash. Things were looking pretty crispy then. </div>
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About two weeks ago, on August 12th, I stopped by again to check on the toads, because we had a big rain in late July. The place was loaded with tadpoles and other critters!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEfaJd4gqbzaZudmxLZPTmGwrnFjhcVzNKZqS6jRlGgcyMXU8EGSqTfg_3vwyDKSUIfKDvA6vBRkFL8n-moF9An_kAHZqaKQm_gsiUEFjcDXVDsqNpGknnMEobIm1m0KL0vPGjirNjMg/s1600/_DRR5517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEfaJd4gqbzaZudmxLZPTmGwrnFjhcVzNKZqS6jRlGgcyMXU8EGSqTfg_3vwyDKSUIfKDvA6vBRkFL8n-moF9An_kAHZqaKQm_gsiUEFjcDXVDsqNpGknnMEobIm1m0KL0vPGjirNjMg/s1600/_DRR5517.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a><br />
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On Tuesday this week, Skunk Creek flashed and cleaned out this tank, demolishing the vegetation and flushing out mud and debris that had collected there over the years. Any tadpoles that were there were taken on a wild ride downstream.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYAeTEPFGrvOa1yzJNraYQBLooYV9pjFSSLxO12neVTGzR0H769K87G1nYoXVWHOqwSTgVGXLF-JY459PwEO4L-3tN-VSCZDYk7uqoXbT5PgnLkVHLB2KsuLfYh0yK95KzEYmf0EV9ac/s1600/_DRR5530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYAeTEPFGrvOa1yzJNraYQBLooYV9pjFSSLxO12neVTGzR0H769K87G1nYoXVWHOqwSTgVGXLF-JY459PwEO4L-3tN-VSCZDYk7uqoXbT5PgnLkVHLB2KsuLfYh0yK95KzEYmf0EV9ac/s1600/_DRR5530.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
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This didn't seem to bother the toads there though. When I arrived the morning after the storm, the first thing I heard was a male red-spotted toad calling. All over the muddy swales below the tank, there were toad tracks, evidence of a very busy night before! Soon, there will be a brand new crop of tadpoles!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEfaJd4gqbzaZudmxLZPTmGwrnFjhcVzNKZqS6jRlGgcyMXU8EGSqTfg_3vwyDKSUIfKDvA6vBRkFL8n-moF9An_kAHZqaKQm_gsiUEFjcDXVDsqNpGknnMEobIm1m0KL0vPGjirNjMg/s1600/_DRR5517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEfaJd4gqbzaZudmxLZPTmGwrnFjhcVzNKZqS6jRlGgcyMXU8EGSqTfg_3vwyDKSUIfKDvA6vBRkFL8n-moF9An_kAHZqaKQm_gsiUEFjcDXVDsqNpGknnMEobIm1m0KL0vPGjirNjMg/s1600/_DRR5517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-70722896574760812822014-03-24T17:03:00.000-07:002015-02-26T21:35:25.238-08:00Crack Botany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpC8dkra6m53_VXCH4qHKqpEB6w-lHTxC3poLkCdKPQI8kdBqW3VCSPIqtYoApX_BhHblMYER93ri8IskiWYSQm2MygD_GTjKqHasgn_86i5Aha6jJWkzHtrY77CRRofBkqmaBb2v0QE/s1600/Crack+shot-1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpC8dkra6m53_VXCH4qHKqpEB6w-lHTxC3poLkCdKPQI8kdBqW3VCSPIqtYoApX_BhHblMYER93ri8IskiWYSQm2MygD_GTjKqHasgn_86i5Aha6jJWkzHtrY77CRRofBkqmaBb2v0QE/s1600/Crack+shot-1a.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></div>
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Some of the most interesting botany is in the middle of the road. A couple of weeks ago, you might have seen me in a meridian or on my hands and knees in the middle of the street photographing plants that grow in cracks. Over thirty species were found growing in cracks in one block of our neighborhood in North Phoenix. These are the plants that will eventually take over. They can handle the extreme heat and aridity, poor nutrient soils (or no soil), and they can handle human abuse. How long would it take, I wonder, for the streets to be covered with vegetation if we just left them alone for a while?<br />
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Here are some of the specimens I documented on my most recent crack botany expedition:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-etQpTqjc58x8_-Gs99UvZIwNfAmYnkmqPFt-cA2sOifR5ooc1EAxDJ18-fIYOJQEDvgsdBe6nrp7HejcOD6O3ZxDfoZf1jYwMk7xvgRvY9FV_Zt3hvLCDmrDGEhWXOhyphenhyphenx64GE6fwXc/s1600/Brassica+tournefourtii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-etQpTqjc58x8_-Gs99UvZIwNfAmYnkmqPFt-cA2sOifR5ooc1EAxDJ18-fIYOJQEDvgsdBe6nrp7HejcOD6O3ZxDfoZf1jYwMk7xvgRvY9FV_Zt3hvLCDmrDGEhWXOhyphenhyphenx64GE6fwXc/s1600/Brassica+tournefourtii.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African Mustard (<i>Brassica tournefourtii</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjwERYkxE6ZImcHyv5XBGld3pdwPHEuE9g_nJ9XuDf4CR0NyXl5mDTM-uLPLwyKqrpcsg7Y1rFG7MwQQC6lLefVm7CgFh0rXfZl9gSdlUAtTP9nkQJhATlnVQ8daBjHL1wMAOBcqOUpI/s1600/Crack+shot-Chamaesyce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjwERYkxE6ZImcHyv5XBGld3pdwPHEuE9g_nJ9XuDf4CR0NyXl5mDTM-uLPLwyKqrpcsg7Y1rFG7MwQQC6lLefVm7CgFh0rXfZl9gSdlUAtTP9nkQJhATlnVQ8daBjHL1wMAOBcqOUpI/s1600/Crack+shot-Chamaesyce.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spurge (<i>Chamaesyce</i> ssp.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLSMXD9HFKw0clwLL4rEixQjgUlHRWsZLXDGmiNsvjx8E108zFmQYraVBh7vKLx1YvOvSer9L-ZmsOkP_kg3DjNc-VawEzpuxCPlBeOy79DrxHpvHyCE2KVumKP6I_E39xnlpv0N5Jmw/s1600/Crack+shot-Encelia+farinosa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLSMXD9HFKw0clwLL4rEixQjgUlHRWsZLXDGmiNsvjx8E108zFmQYraVBh7vKLx1YvOvSer9L-ZmsOkP_kg3DjNc-VawEzpuxCPlBeOy79DrxHpvHyCE2KVumKP6I_E39xnlpv0N5Jmw/s1600/Crack+shot-Encelia+farinosa.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brittle Bush (<i>Encelia farinosa</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYDV4M8ZhO_F8E0qx7g9SLoJ9N3UyZZw3h4rcnzJbS-hzZusVDvVru6WD3GPv4H82r-Ba0TxHTqCd3-0aFp9zx5ofbSvF0TtwnvmCdHSS29CHcc1Sx1h3deLTyr_PLffryH9DADQSxf8/s1600/Crack+shot-Eriogonum+deflexum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYDV4M8ZhO_F8E0qx7g9SLoJ9N3UyZZw3h4rcnzJbS-hzZusVDvVru6WD3GPv4H82r-Ba0TxHTqCd3-0aFp9zx5ofbSvF0TtwnvmCdHSS29CHcc1Sx1h3deLTyr_PLffryH9DADQSxf8/s1600/Crack+shot-Eriogonum+deflexum.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Buckwheat (<i>Eriogonum deflexum</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqPC2b21e4hyphenhyphen05DsetkhL6xDWlWdWDP4VMdLhGEGFtEQB5J702r0Y1WGNiudH9tbU17BoaBem5hNhENzxawgQhbMH1y4EDCTRXQij1NL-jgOy-myOxYxBt-Kf57cH6KaIPyh9GcE4Vog/s1600/Crack+shot-Erodium+cicutarium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqPC2b21e4hyphenhyphen05DsetkhL6xDWlWdWDP4VMdLhGEGFtEQB5J702r0Y1WGNiudH9tbU17BoaBem5hNhENzxawgQhbMH1y4EDCTRXQij1NL-jgOy-myOxYxBt-Kf57cH6KaIPyh9GcE4Vog/s1600/Crack+shot-Erodium+cicutarium.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filaree (<i>Erodium cicutarium</i>)</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxSnG872YzM3WI-n-tlq-SQTJSyH6f0nEKgbxCVt2BCN0u-bsVrnQRse8PVrkMzX7Lv1afV_4gnva3kaIsWfjCovov7VSvtaUmcFgm88uEKP6V4ddfV_GkPXFWeGckPa0_vBWn7g4MB0/s1600/Crack+shot-Herniaria+hirsuta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxSnG872YzM3WI-n-tlq-SQTJSyH6f0nEKgbxCVt2BCN0u-bsVrnQRse8PVrkMzX7Lv1afV_4gnva3kaIsWfjCovov7VSvtaUmcFgm88uEKP6V4ddfV_GkPXFWeGckPa0_vBWn7g4MB0/s1600/Crack+shot-Herniaria+hirsuta.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://katherinedarrow.blogspot.com/2014/02/stone-buster.html">Hairy Rupturewort (<i>Herniaria hirsuta</i>)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JJaMQ4sl97UNqcQHkIb7Snv6c73kwa97JeXZC0Ri2v7vHEqd_290Xz5UUW91Exm5etWZpsSeEyQnGbgz39nKhwZiLNl6WHA1cxM4rEtDDNjzYCDQyJzY_THN2NDyDrCvYFzIDVsDdrc/s1600/Crack+shot-Hieracium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JJaMQ4sl97UNqcQHkIb7Snv6c73kwa97JeXZC0Ri2v7vHEqd_290Xz5UUW91Exm5etWZpsSeEyQnGbgz39nKhwZiLNl6WHA1cxM4rEtDDNjzYCDQyJzY_THN2NDyDrCvYFzIDVsDdrc/s1600/Crack+shot-Hieracium.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawkweed (<i>Hieracium</i> ssp.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oa4Ti0Dcz2KPpIn2zcF096m9wNfV62KWc0MkaDU6Q_xJ-eAfecCpecv2_ZkbjQYo2oGiuoE4ExN1hIe3wJLo4NAPQ-gaDnSd5wwIipdcuIwBq-CjYKDgu9O_kWw30oUxU_-vv0Ca2Xc/s1600/Crack+shot-Oncosiphon+piluliferum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oa4Ti0Dcz2KPpIn2zcF096m9wNfV62KWc0MkaDU6Q_xJ-eAfecCpecv2_ZkbjQYo2oGiuoE4ExN1hIe3wJLo4NAPQ-gaDnSd5wwIipdcuIwBq-CjYKDgu9O_kWw30oUxU_-vv0Ca2Xc/s1600/Crack+shot-Oncosiphon+piluliferum.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stinkweed (<i>Oncosiphon piluliferum</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwoYzwlXimt5Rw_CdQ5lKHGim4fYB6eW47udzlSipkah0SkZbWeI_7azElnYmLXcdM2wKxycS8zoB6mAaBsc7beGBoYWtfcsn8dVAWYRr3xRyVi7T8kBwMfujifh5fPgdt51e_9JdNpQ/s1600/Crack+shot-Poa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwoYzwlXimt5Rw_CdQ5lKHGim4fYB6eW47udzlSipkah0SkZbWeI_7azElnYmLXcdM2wKxycS8zoB6mAaBsc7beGBoYWtfcsn8dVAWYRr3xRyVi7T8kBwMfujifh5fPgdt51e_9JdNpQ/s1600/Crack+shot-Poa.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grass (<i>Poa</i> ssp.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvWM-l5qJESHK3FIttNknOQ24e09Lisv0CZI5RGzMX3QuoaUeW44O0ueuGApyByVBpJ9mrwNg8WqVFhadJwLu0lWYTHaMTZIBDf4LqT1unQ0Zq1wfZS7xeu2gHcG07hTYi5L5Y7rXPcE/s1600/Crack+shot-Senecio+vulgaris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvWM-l5qJESHK3FIttNknOQ24e09Lisv0CZI5RGzMX3QuoaUeW44O0ueuGApyByVBpJ9mrwNg8WqVFhadJwLu0lWYTHaMTZIBDf4LqT1unQ0Zq1wfZS7xeu2gHcG07hTYi5L5Y7rXPcE/s1600/Crack+shot-Senecio+vulgaris.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Groundsel (<i>Senecio vulgaris</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8m2memN3wtJ64j4EyHMWOfrGdtVwupYskJSZw0TKl_JXeOU9Dnkubn8A5JgQlA3xF9wl0PIeB64mYNS6XlLiKc8zbXshjr3ofeyRb2QjT2rzzBcqJBHpUp25SxQIvMtZ-QsUFoOdqcLY/s1600/Crack+shot-Tribulus+terrestris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8m2memN3wtJ64j4EyHMWOfrGdtVwupYskJSZw0TKl_JXeOU9Dnkubn8A5JgQlA3xF9wl0PIeB64mYNS6XlLiKc8zbXshjr3ofeyRb2QjT2rzzBcqJBHpUp25SxQIvMtZ-QsUFoOdqcLY/s1600/Crack+shot-Tribulus+terrestris.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caltrops (<i>Tribulis terrestris</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRzbnKR-s-fmDyy9GO_ZKc0z-QLvf29xNkhopfP4hIciG_d5T5vymgs6iRm9Y4Doow6rbxnLOSDoT0lzV26CKHHZSNrrSquUmK20X7U-TiVqJS6TVY1cL2atVz7N_dVIcf5gH9fueZps/s1600/Malva+parviflora.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRzbnKR-s-fmDyy9GO_ZKc0z-QLvf29xNkhopfP4hIciG_d5T5vymgs6iRm9Y4Doow6rbxnLOSDoT0lzV26CKHHZSNrrSquUmK20X7U-TiVqJS6TVY1cL2atVz7N_dVIcf5gH9fueZps/s1600/Malva+parviflora.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeseweed (<i>Malva parviflora</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwpgooZMqHjpo0Sy2mviQ_PEGjST3uGIKZFWh428QWpcG-tzzXdqkr2OCNS0pa3GUAyxHS3Gy29Rjy6BvxWh08mEjZifODumeTVfP4ZFhxrWzFCDg5BtxoTj1uYhz6JK0eDKaaibP7ac/s1600/Pennisetum+ciliare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwpgooZMqHjpo0Sy2mviQ_PEGjST3uGIKZFWh428QWpcG-tzzXdqkr2OCNS0pa3GUAyxHS3Gy29Rjy6BvxWh08mEjZifODumeTVfP4ZFhxrWzFCDg5BtxoTj1uYhz6JK0eDKaaibP7ac/s1600/Pennisetum+ciliare.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buffle Grass (<i>Pennisetum ciliare</i>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZD5jcYmm6ywLJ4XUD_-gfx9cj9XgGCzEIAhY_2XWDPKHHphpVC51jdAfSrViOWrI3eWUeGHraO9RS2RFPJijPDk0z0VDCIGzHa5uWiTt795RJRKy8jrG9ghAgI5fmwidcXU4ijeRSQrA/s1600/Salsola+tragus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZD5jcYmm6ywLJ4XUD_-gfx9cj9XgGCzEIAhY_2XWDPKHHphpVC51jdAfSrViOWrI3eWUeGHraO9RS2RFPJijPDk0z0VDCIGzHa5uWiTt795RJRKy8jrG9ghAgI5fmwidcXU4ijeRSQrA/s1600/Salsola+tragus.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russian Thistle (<i>Salsola tragus</i>)</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOyjhz-epzyBu7jqHIw2D8mmqcJOgnQD4BURSXVMzC_KVaLbWW2clTPvb6EnuFFdEo84qD7j2hM5sdJlvG4Ys6CuZz3vvcOgzywncjt41g1834xx9MYnkC6fvjcCCUzjRDfN8Oie0gfg/s1600/Crack+shot-Solanum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOyjhz-epzyBu7jqHIw2D8mmqcJOgnQD4BURSXVMzC_KVaLbWW2clTPvb6EnuFFdEo84qD7j2hM5sdJlvG4Ys6CuZz3vvcOgzywncjt41g1834xx9MYnkC6fvjcCCUzjRDfN8Oie0gfg/s1600/Crack+shot-Solanum.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground Cherry (<i>Solanum</i> ssp.)</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz99qbE9BnpEpch5vi4uBgO_rdR3hlEMeybhYmmKV4IVO2MTRpPaeKCB1sSTW2Iom70bAjaJyrBA64zr4SlqlDKxngGB-lmsjebD1qfW1iflEtIz88aCG9EXeBWVEvvAF_3mW3YXNj5eI/s1600/Crack+shot-Draba+cuneifolia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz99qbE9BnpEpch5vi4uBgO_rdR3hlEMeybhYmmKV4IVO2MTRpPaeKCB1sSTW2Iom70bAjaJyrBA64zr4SlqlDKxngGB-lmsjebD1qfW1iflEtIz88aCG9EXeBWVEvvAF_3mW3YXNj5eI/s1600/Crack+shot-Draba+cuneifolia.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitlow Grass (<i>Draba cuneiofolia</i>)</td></tr>
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-81310003492696189272014-03-03T10:22:00.002-08:002014-03-03T13:51:00.949-08:00Joshua Tree Rescue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5p2zKk5zxoOZjuCNI0peSrKx-GWxP4PeDeDlullJs8RxiCblJSLeu0QJYKzqFFvt0MWgXhpW1RBWODqBGZJVUr_L5QGREnhKcRI9H6hHFyZTYBLbWH-rYCD-QzSvRHaTEclHUgfLOrw/s1600/DSC_6219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5p2zKk5zxoOZjuCNI0peSrKx-GWxP4PeDeDlullJs8RxiCblJSLeu0QJYKzqFFvt0MWgXhpW1RBWODqBGZJVUr_L5QGREnhKcRI9H6hHFyZTYBLbWH-rYCD-QzSvRHaTEclHUgfLOrw/s1600/DSC_6219.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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On a recent trip to Joshua Tree National Monument, I overheard a ranger lamenting about the imminent demise of the park's iconic species. "Joshua trees," he sighed, "are dying out." In an <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17628032">NPR story on Joshua trees</a>, climate change and the absence of giant sloths are blamed for the predicted loss. Although individuals can live for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, there does not seem to be enough recruitment to keep up with natural losses of older trees. With the looming spectre of more arid conditions, lack of dispersal by animals that eat the seeds could severely limit their range in the future. Biologist Ken Cole states that "no modern animal is capable of helping the Joshua tree migrate long distances" as, we presume, the giant sloth did. </div>
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However, I found this last statement contrary to my observations at a local garden center recently, where I found a few young Joshua trees (<i>Yucca brevifolia</i>) for sale, each with an official salvage tag from the State of Nevada to declare legal transport from its homeland. These specimens had traveled at least two hundred and fifty miles from the nearest yucca forest in Nevada, and humans are certainly modern animals. This may not be sufficient to make up for the loss of giant sloths, but it's good to know that we can help out a little bit. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind_eAiDhj_2agqc1CBmAmFbD8_faiBFd7q-3mMZceeLfmm4_hgapOJDOuWITggzQ1ZFbYEYEz9kuYgOdFqRBV3dmIhCuj210hgIgPR-3tGzgKeQA_ulPoLLxD9VpjEURSmQEjvwEJz28/s1600/IMG_1328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind_eAiDhj_2agqc1CBmAmFbD8_faiBFd7q-3mMZceeLfmm4_hgapOJDOuWITggzQ1ZFbYEYEz9kuYgOdFqRBV3dmIhCuj210hgIgPR-3tGzgKeQA_ulPoLLxD9VpjEURSmQEjvwEJz28/s1600/IMG_1328.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbffUh4wNlakSJXJBdEOD83HyexcVszERVA2FTaApg-SwR7cymhKWzytYGDlJqCBZ63RoPyifde1kbvRWgrAvNgVFQ_2MdTzDbOHedS0J5cX6SQrGO5V7iSiT-jdb84vhiFIdZOUCQ2vA/s1600/IMG_1330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbffUh4wNlakSJXJBdEOD83HyexcVszERVA2FTaApg-SwR7cymhKWzytYGDlJqCBZ63RoPyifde1kbvRWgrAvNgVFQ_2MdTzDbOHedS0J5cX6SQrGO5V7iSiT-jdb84vhiFIdZOUCQ2vA/s1600/IMG_1330.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Just across the street from the garden center, a fine specimen has flourished into a decent shade tree even more spectacular than the largest Joshua trees I had seen in the National Park. Of course, this does not constitute a healthy population unless there are other Joshua trees nearby to mingle pollen with. Oh, and the important fact that <a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/water-environment/joshua-tree-yucca-moth-co-evolution-fascinates-researchers">certain species of moths</a> are necessary to facilitate the pollination. Without the moth, no seeds, and without the trees, no moths. Life is complicated. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYCQlA5E552OWy7TMIk5NubGIaFLlKTuwQw0_lWlXpfbszndmz8i_3OCu3LCJKe1o_B4BdxrRsUOFNnttc__JGHvY9rrPLFdXHo691VYJQDDEYRBBSxoZGoc3LQeKdwTmmFOwxHGlpwE/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYCQlA5E552OWy7TMIk5NubGIaFLlKTuwQw0_lWlXpfbszndmz8i_3OCu3LCJKe1o_B4BdxrRsUOFNnttc__JGHvY9rrPLFdXHo691VYJQDDEYRBBSxoZGoc3LQeKdwTmmFOwxHGlpwE/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua tree in a suburban Phoenix landscape</td></tr>
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Fortunately, for now anyway, the Joshua tree is not considered rare or endangered, although when developers or <a href="http://www.nps.gov/jotr/parknews/pbroad_plant_salvage.htm">National Park road construction</a> crews feel the need to bulldoze through a forest, they are required to salvage them, just as is also required for giant saguaros in the Sonoran desert. If you live in the desert southwest and have the enough space in your yard, you can do your part as a modern animal to disperse Joshua trees to more hospitable climates. In this case, slothful behavior would be a virtue. </div>
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-4846286602901501202014-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:002014-03-03T08:57:02.098-08:00Hackamore Acres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aB43OAfEV9DjYXwEgG1kd2Ulo0_F_naqWgk9U5RJVEkOzX6FPd2Efp9OZGv8rll-YNFyb5RDxVkgIm99OZ5m13y3nNhV0dkKy4Gn9VEjuDy_rYmVUufibFRfeZwt0S4r80EGO6-DPuo/s1600/Hackamore-Acres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aB43OAfEV9DjYXwEgG1kd2Ulo0_F_naqWgk9U5RJVEkOzX6FPd2Efp9OZGv8rll-YNFyb5RDxVkgIm99OZ5m13y3nNhV0dkKy4Gn9VEjuDy_rYmVUufibFRfeZwt0S4r80EGO6-DPuo/s1600/Hackamore-Acres.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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When our local grocery store was built six years ago, I was glad that I could now walk just a mile to do my shopping, but grieved a little for another patch of desert that was transformed into seventy-five acres of asphalt and concrete. Fortunately, the other half of this island surrounded by a moat of roadways between Hackamore and Happy Valley Road, still remains for me to wander and to study the natural and unnatural history there. From the air, the desert side shows a maze of trails created by wildlife and the occasional human passing through. The mall side appears to have nothing growing at all, but this is hardly true. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0znUNCRmV7XP-tlwLx6OZSl1ibkV1XvJNrTr1ejqUKxc1Hx54jgvrRwdyiu-PdClwuRFV8yWR1jRh0CuN5Gs8O6KfSr3UNZ7wEf_FF_j_YvZ0ZceX1R-N8DjFBj1BGwHXFw6eYXPdbc/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0znUNCRmV7XP-tlwLx6OZSl1ibkV1XvJNrTr1ejqUKxc1Hx54jgvrRwdyiu-PdClwuRFV8yWR1jRh0CuN5Gs8O6KfSr3UNZ7wEf_FF_j_YvZ0ZceX1R-N8DjFBj1BGwHXFw6eYXPdbc/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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This week I made a comparative floral inventory of the two parcels of land. Creosote bush is the dominant plant on the wild side, with a few mesquites, palo verde and wolfberry shrubs mingling in. Patches of globe mallow (<i>Spaeralcea ambigua</i>) and African chamomile (<i>Oncosiphon piluliferum</i>) flourish wherever there is a little cover from deadfall or a dip in the landscape where soil and water accumulate. Over forty other species of plants seek refuge in the shade of the larger shrubs. A few hardy annuals, especially plantain (<i>Plantago ovata</i>) and burrcomb (<i>Pectocarya recurvata</i>), colonize the wide expanses of otherwise bare earth. Quail, ground squirrels, desert cottontail, white-crowned sparrows and lizards are some of the critters that make a living here too. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8P8xrUMBkPMEISPQ6_MrDP_SvzHxaVh9VV1r4uR7st_549VvAWBz6pCtmCh63muUIXqywDzxOLbWCYkjX4TxUM7s4pZkE3pYOmVaQ_8REg_Y_3LBXW-EapDidEgi8Wce3-8anVxwl7YM/s1600/IMG_1248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8P8xrUMBkPMEISPQ6_MrDP_SvzHxaVh9VV1r4uR7st_549VvAWBz6pCtmCh63muUIXqywDzxOLbWCYkjX4TxUM7s4pZkE3pYOmVaQ_8REg_Y_3LBXW-EapDidEgi8Wce3-8anVxwl7YM/s1600/IMG_1248.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Crossing the curbed boundary between the two sides of Hackamore Acres, the diversity of plants and animals that occupy the parking lot are entirely different. Well, obviously. Except for a few token creosotes and triangle leaf bursages, all of the forty-one species that have been selected to live in the sea of asphalt are not found in the wild desert next door. Landscapers do a thorough job of weeding out the few introduced species that have established on the desert side. Even the birds are different. Over in the parking lot and on sidewalks, you're more likely to see house sparrows, pigeons and grackles. This is a distinctly urban ecology. But this is also a miracle! That anything can survive in this radically altered landscape is, in some ways, a testimony to the power and resilience of life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsm0Y803LrCgUBN7nKSC1RoIeWzzUtFTo3FkXOaSOm929RYvB0RMucczTBVOR91rqAP_gHophlkZ2zEEvPq6QXVRxlQ7n8hrFWaQUwdsOBCgQk0UJk0ZU4dFrbpBn-cgKmPWBDs12dTM/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsm0Y803LrCgUBN7nKSC1RoIeWzzUtFTo3FkXOaSOm929RYvB0RMucczTBVOR91rqAP_gHophlkZ2zEEvPq6QXVRxlQ7n8hrFWaQUwdsOBCgQk0UJk0ZU4dFrbpBn-cgKmPWBDs12dTM/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've come to appreciate both sides of Hackamore Acres. I admire the trees and shrubs that can survive (albeit with an IV of sorts, water and nutrients provided through a drip system) in the super-heated environment of the parking lot. Emu bush, rosemary, oleander and lantana are year-round sources of nectar, pollen, seeds and leaves for birds and insects to feed on. Willow acacia, if left untended for more than a few months, will sprout many seedlings. Surely they would form a forest in the future if we ceased pruning, weeding and hosing the gravel with herbicides.<br />
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I romanticize the wildness of creosote flats that smell so sweet after a rainstorm. Arizona poppies and spiderling that erupt from seemingly barren soils after a good monsoon rain remind me that no matter what abuses we torture the earth with, seeds blown in will restore the land in time. Life is patient.<br />
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-90664693889176506902014-02-11T14:02:00.002-08:002014-02-13T21:37:30.474-08:00Stone Buster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifsvWt3lWei50z9BchcM-xnSvXl4XKcNe68x_5lkLCn4o7xSrPP78foS3XPgEmy6vA-a67HExcYk-liqU3Q941xf5xd2Vc8sdqivWToej5uD70sXeNtZAhxuxm5ki7J_D59kiHY7ddro/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifsvWt3lWei50z9BchcM-xnSvXl4XKcNe68x_5lkLCn4o7xSrPP78foS3XPgEmy6vA-a67HExcYk-liqU3Q941xf5xd2Vc8sdqivWToej5uD70sXeNtZAhxuxm5ki7J_D59kiHY7ddro/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
You gotta love a plant that was given the name Hairy Rupturewort (<i>Herniaria hirsuta</i>). With a name like that, you better be tough, and tough it is. This inconspicuous little plant lives in cracks, or ruptures, in the asphalt of our neighborhood streets, one of the hottest, driest environments a plant could take root in. Peering at it through my hand lens, I saw that the leaves are covered with soft hairs. Although the cracks probably began due to the natural heaving of the earth, rupturewort and other plants that occupy this microhabitat help to widen the cracks. Oblivious, or at least unhindered, by the local traffic, rupturewort adds sinuous stripes of green to the road. The plant's natural habitat in northern Africa is probably in similar cracks in rocks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh-hyUe3oRt-hsdAnt7hb8eL6H_0nbVYHDFR1VZng8faL99yWiqvKKJVbwcr1e9prAw5tNsSdyrNMgL7Q2v7Gfa2nS3vvEXW_ZLtohH3emmfOBt2eMw75f29lDHlhDIzyXghGDFQa0pg/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh-hyUe3oRt-hsdAnt7hb8eL6H_0nbVYHDFR1VZng8faL99yWiqvKKJVbwcr1e9prAw5tNsSdyrNMgL7Q2v7Gfa2nS3vvEXW_ZLtohH3emmfOBt2eMw75f29lDHlhDIzyXghGDFQa0pg/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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Rupturewort was imported to North America as a horticultural marvel and herbal remedy. Another species, <i>Herniaria glabra</i>, or smooth rupturewort (i.e. not hairy), is marketed as a <a href="http://www.stepables.com/5/Herniaria_glabra_Green_Carpet_Rupturewort.html">"carpet" plant</a> to use in walkways, and as <a href="http://www.zooscape.com/cgi-bin/maitred/GreenCanyon/questp513672/r11">medicinal tea</a> or extract. You can even purchase a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/KNOT-GRASS-Illecebraceae-Paronychiaceae-Annual-Rupture-Wort/dp/B009ZV0YH4">poster</a> that includes a botanical illustration of rupturewort.<br />
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Moroccan urologist, Fouad Atmani, has been experimenting with rupturewort to better understand its effects on kidney stones. His 2004 article, <i>Effect of herb extract from Herniaria hirsuta on calcium oxalate crystallization in vitro;</i> and another published in 2003, <i>Effect of aqueous extract from Herniaria hirsuta on experimentally induced calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats</i>, document that the herb is indeed useful in dealing with kidney stones, although it does not actually rupture, or break them. What it does do is inhibit the stones from adhering to kidney tissue, which helps to reduce mineral build-up and the excruciating pain and other side effects that comes with it. Extracts from the plant have been used for centuries as a medicinal remedy to treat kidney stones and as a diuretic. Now Dr. Atmani's research has shown that early herbalists seemed to know what they were doing.<br />
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Is it a divine synchronicity that my fascination with this plant coincided with my own personal episode of kidney stones? The world works in mysterious ways! Time to make some rupturewort tea. Fortunately, there is a plentiful supply in the street.Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-63494979860812810772013-12-04T17:03:00.000-08:002014-02-11T13:56:08.089-08:00Urban Refuge<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYltbCdoGSWSegvU9SnG31Ws4D6Q2G_04xim1e8rN-9i-K03nbZfwfaMNdXZ42DyAWvU6PsIxLpAvcIhn69VCTnImei4z1VFaiO5Vu1Nhs9FqDzAgvG0PFm5PX5MwMJAViXGEQz2HnhP8/s1600/Monarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYltbCdoGSWSegvU9SnG31Ws4D6Q2G_04xim1e8rN-9i-K03nbZfwfaMNdXZ42DyAWvU6PsIxLpAvcIhn69VCTnImei4z1VFaiO5Vu1Nhs9FqDzAgvG0PFm5PX5MwMJAViXGEQz2HnhP8/s400/Monarch.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male monarch resting in a mesquite tree photo by Richard Halliburton</td></tr>
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One of the greatest wonders of the natural world is the annual migration of millions of monarch butterflies from eastern North America to fir forests deep in southern Mexico each winter. But Michoacan, Mexico is not the only place that monarchs overwinter. Right here in central Phoenix, teams of butterfly scientists, or lepidopterists, have been tracking monarchs that overwinter along the Salt River, as well as along the Colorado River near Yuma and Parker, Arizona. Numerous <a href="http://www.swmonarchs.org/hotspots.php">"hot spots"</a> around the state of Arizona, from Grand Canyon in the north to Patagonia in the south, also attract monarchs to feed and breed at various times of the year.<br />
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Monarchs are very selective about what species of plant they will lay eggs on, since the caterpillars are adapted to feed almost exclusively on milkweeds. However, the adults will gather nectar from a wide variety of flowers. Even though they are endemic to North America, monarchs are happy to feed on plants imported from the Mediterranean, such as lantana and rosemary, or Australia, such as eucalyptus and wattle trees.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kM-Qit37jYU7vqzFkji0PwvqSHPFWhylVnJZ6rnn0IX82MTKD_KZ6fB-jmiYyjJY_TiNR8jdXGzalj4rZ6KyKPszEllpIC3jEAvgqXwYhlNzqoLiND6ajfC6kmfkCF5Nbxvnvav9oIw/s1600/monarch-11-27-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kM-Qit37jYU7vqzFkji0PwvqSHPFWhylVnJZ6rnn0IX82MTKD_KZ6fB-jmiYyjJY_TiNR8jdXGzalj4rZ6KyKPszEllpIC3jEAvgqXwYhlNzqoLiND6ajfC6kmfkCF5Nbxvnvav9oIw/s400/monarch-11-27-13.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female monarch nectaring on a wattle tree</td></tr>
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For roosting, though, they need just the right kind of canopy and just the right kind of leaves to hang onto with their tiny feet, says Gail Morris, director of the <a href="http://www.swmonarchs.org/index.php">Southwest Monarch Study</a>. Gooding's willows, large trees native to Arizona, are their favorite at the riverside location in central Phoenix. At least that is where they have been noticed by people who pay attention to these sorts of things. It is quite possible that they are hanging out in the eucalyptus trees in your neighborhood, as they do along the coast of <a href="http://www.monarchprogram.org/where-to-see-overwintering-monarchs/">California</a>. If you see monarch butterflies floating around your neighborhood this winter, people want to know, especially if you can see a tiny round tag with numbers on its wing. These tags are one way scientists<a href="http://www.swmonarchs.org/index.php"> </a>are keeping track of butterflies that roam through Phoenix. You can report your sightings, with or without tags, to swmonarchs@yahoo.com.<br />
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Photos are excellent documentation too, since it is easy to confuse a monarch with the more abundant and closely related <a href="http://deemhills.blogspot.com/2011/11/desert-queen.html">queen</a> and occasional viceroy butterflies that also flutter around these parts. Learn the differences here: <a href="http://www.swmonarchs.org/queen-monarch.php">Identifying Monarch Butterflies.</a><br />
<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-10758581119386840972013-12-01T21:05:00.002-08:002013-12-02T07:35:39.248-08:00Stalked Puffball<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYaiO0dnLBcQIMVeX94MBWEcUcVxX1Q5x385hb2ki2IiCVO4AFj4nNd8yKt7etShx76QblqDCEJs-QayMSzDC89n-HyNz3bEMHTZzjIzNhRJR2fm3sQPlP9SfybKvMhp2WOlghi8_6Oo/s1600/Battarria+diguettii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYaiO0dnLBcQIMVeX94MBWEcUcVxX1Q5x385hb2ki2IiCVO4AFj4nNd8yKt7etShx76QblqDCEJs-QayMSzDC89n-HyNz3bEMHTZzjIzNhRJR2fm3sQPlP9SfybKvMhp2WOlghi8_6Oo/s400/Battarria+diguettii.jpg" width="271" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">My greatest excitement today was finding this stalked puffball, </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Battarrea diguettii</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, on my morning walk. This is a new species for my "life list," and the second type of </span><a href="http://katherinedarrow.blogspot.com/2013/10/false-shaggy-mane.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">stalked puffball</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I've seen growing around Phoenix. It's a wonder that the neighborhood isn't covered with these strange fungi, as the spores must number in the billions from just this one specimen. This and other members of the genus </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Battarrea</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> have lots of folk names: sandy stiltball, desert drumstick and donkey fungus are the most common. A close relative of this species, </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Battarrea phalloides</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, has been found all over the world, from Africa and Oahu to Uruguay, where none other than Charles Darwin collected specimens in 1833. </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Diguettii</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> is distinguished by the pores on the cap that release the powdery spores, and is endemic to the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of North America.</span></div>
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-59668431037222151922013-11-20T13:26:00.000-08:002013-11-26T17:53:51.436-08:00Life and Death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HrLH_KCy2LoxAE0czPMIpcQZ5lzHdDW7EEYdaL0Jl7RtWVyHFq6DM_O0WSaA4vaLqTKoUi-h7KCEHFSguSj0BPZNRogOCvXDQUHHbHPwHjmYanNN13bULdFutLkiqZUrkg9NjaDXucw/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HrLH_KCy2LoxAE0czPMIpcQZ5lzHdDW7EEYdaL0Jl7RtWVyHFq6DM_O0WSaA4vaLqTKoUi-h7KCEHFSguSj0BPZNRogOCvXDQUHHbHPwHjmYanNN13bULdFutLkiqZUrkg9NjaDXucw/s400/IMG_0383.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Around here, if a scorpion doesn't get you, the ants will. This Arizona desert scorpion (<i>Hadrurus arizonensis</i>) I found on the sidewalk probably met its death by a crushing foot, but it did not take long for tiny Southern fire ants (<i>Solenopsis xyloni</i>) to swarm in for a feast. At least the scorpions usually hunt solo. </div>
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Also known as the Giant Hairy Scorpions for short stiff hairs along the sides of their legs, this species is reputed to be the largest in the U.S., measuring up to six inches long from the tip of their stinger to the small, sharp jaws or chelicerae. Add on all those legs plus the formidible claws, or pedipalps, and they are quite impressive. This one was about four inches long based on my calculations as sized up to my pen. (I need to add a small ruler to my pack for observations like this.) The ants are just a teensy fraction-maybe a sixteenth of an inch-or a couple of millimeters apiece if you prefer metric. Although scorpions can deliver a painful sting, they rarely cause a serious reaction in humans, and this one is actually one of the least toxic, despite its size. The dark back and pale legs also distinguish this species from the smaller, more dangerous and much more common <a href="http://deemhills.blogspot.com/2009/05/summer-skies-and-scorpions.html">bark scorpion</a> (<i>Centruroides exilicauda</i>) that haunts the SW deserts. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSdNwRDNyJIqRiU9UIIYvWh2UuY155qpizcW7g_WDvnJ6V-P6iBFm8KYB04y7gkYGw5M-jJEB64OwwYJPqDoAi6KOWc1ibJgeIj8iyu9ZSflKjkeJZFqjstaNTSgkD-Sulefra-v_PeQ/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSdNwRDNyJIqRiU9UIIYvWh2UuY155qpizcW7g_WDvnJ6V-P6iBFm8KYB04y7gkYGw5M-jJEB64OwwYJPqDoAi6KOWc1ibJgeIj8iyu9ZSflKjkeJZFqjstaNTSgkD-Sulefra-v_PeQ/s400/IMG_0385.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
As gruesome as a scene like this may be, it is a reminder that all life thrives on death, humans included...unless you like your meat very fresh!Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-11348943462948466182013-11-14T09:55:00.003-08:002013-11-20T13:23:59.112-08:00Exoskeletons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZOhXuPIKvVsWoa3G8J1QRUZU5NozED10Mihvm-akezxrhyu-j8T_f6NU-XaeGFkHKRpwGSyjHkStyNT_EQv3_ao4VZpxAAPZAq-ADkBs_gJRPluzBuvNbM7hwnRHitoBNheB4k9Wx9g/s1600/DSC_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZOhXuPIKvVsWoa3G8J1QRUZU5NozED10Mihvm-akezxrhyu-j8T_f6NU-XaeGFkHKRpwGSyjHkStyNT_EQv3_ao4VZpxAAPZAq-ADkBs_gJRPluzBuvNbM7hwnRHitoBNheB4k9Wx9g/s400/DSC_0072.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After a month or two spent mucking about in a pond for food, the aquatic larvae, or nymphs, of dragonflies crawl out of the water, crack open the skin on their back, and begin new lives as aerobatic adults. I found these exoskeletons, or exuvia, of roseate skimmers<i> (Orthemis ferruginea</i>) clinging to a cement wall along the Central Arizona Project canal, where a trough of still water serves as a year round breeding ground for dragonflies, as well as dozens of other insects. The exuvia are perfect casts of the fearsome jaws and giant eyes that make the larvae successful predators. I would like to have witnessed the magical hour when dragonflies emerged from these chitonous skins. Even more, I would like to be able to shed my own skin and fly! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI8oVvuzuvrelhk1Vm9wqM9T-qT6AA5BeaEGpXaWru1hK0jeipsoLRv5xdFk-1my3dDiGvcOfEKYTTKcFm_XeaI_Oty05MSfM8y_FtQGf6m8Qvl0m6H2XHq18DBNi0LvOGE4K5myCoX8/s1600/IMG_0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI8oVvuzuvrelhk1Vm9wqM9T-qT6AA5BeaEGpXaWru1hK0jeipsoLRv5xdFk-1my3dDiGvcOfEKYTTKcFm_XeaI_Oty05MSfM8y_FtQGf6m8Qvl0m6H2XHq18DBNi0LvOGE4K5myCoX8/s400/IMG_0328.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvES2r2UNg02D8z51JzRkwKr1_Sl-1A5Utx42-ZVkZ0cCzimfa_ezsC2WV_nlFrVwlxNTksJuUW1hkVtZtPA41mey5NAwRSA2YBKglG-v7A1ZXdi9POTLvM0sLfkYHd4vVuZPaNfxxAb4/s1600/IMG_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvES2r2UNg02D8z51JzRkwKr1_Sl-1A5Utx42-ZVkZ0cCzimfa_ezsC2WV_nlFrVwlxNTksJuUW1hkVtZtPA41mey5NAwRSA2YBKglG-v7A1ZXdi9POTLvM0sLfkYHd4vVuZPaNfxxAb4/s400/IMG_0178.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSm-8PQVPp5I_GalHYo5R6bslpshyphenhyphenMfJXVJpb3WI935KDER-g7jCvuQbUezbkMlDpMjafcNAUnFMJY_ctydlx668xnVMGvx3npQ5fxi6qacVJrSAEDJcA9Ta14PHk3G5UMSNQ1jLb7UI/s1600/IMG_0332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSm-8PQVPp5I_GalHYo5R6bslpshyphenhyphenMfJXVJpb3WI935KDER-g7jCvuQbUezbkMlDpMjafcNAUnFMJY_ctydlx668xnVMGvx3npQ5fxi6qacVJrSAEDJcA9Ta14PHk3G5UMSNQ1jLb7UI/s400/IMG_0332.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This trough on top of the CAP canal collects debris and mud, <br />
creating a year-round pond that is brimming with aquatic life.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-h_uJxquwZZ5kugFuujW2Np69fzuiz0Wlm8CoophAtyShel0dpCzvf3HnmwFaDuFuJASKc-y8p119gLrbgsrs__9Y5RVGW3X9OgVKZnHTSS39H2zr6usrhh7Z18wADklM_Lr-8Em5OSY/s1600/Roseate+Skimmero-Jomax+bridge+site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-h_uJxquwZZ5kugFuujW2Np69fzuiz0Wlm8CoophAtyShel0dpCzvf3HnmwFaDuFuJASKc-y8p119gLrbgsrs__9Y5RVGW3X9OgVKZnHTSS39H2zr6usrhh7Z18wADklM_Lr-8Em5OSY/s400/Roseate+Skimmero-Jomax+bridge+site.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An adult Roseate Skimmer rests on a blade of grass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zozqbx2_3lcxwA-ttmfcHojDeltUbikKzKhQftHI628JdhsNs01KtHPn3hcGPlnu-ghRY8jin8SVJEivKnGyujYS4-svkbczEtrZ5miv0PKUtHyWUaxCyVYza7H8RJaw11WZDkLkZvs/s1600/dragon+larva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zozqbx2_3lcxwA-ttmfcHojDeltUbikKzKhQftHI628JdhsNs01KtHPn3hcGPlnu-ghRY8jin8SVJEivKnGyujYS4-svkbczEtrZ5miv0PKUtHyWUaxCyVYza7H8RJaw11WZDkLkZvs/s400/dragon+larva.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragonfly larvae blend in with muck at the bottom of the pond.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-h_uJxquwZZ5kugFuujW2Np69fzuiz0Wlm8CoophAtyShel0dpCzvf3HnmwFaDuFuJASKc-y8p119gLrbgsrs__9Y5RVGW3X9OgVKZnHTSS39H2zr6usrhh7Z18wADklM_Lr-8Em5OSY/s1600/Roseate+Skimmero-Jomax+bridge+site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zozqbx2_3lcxwA-ttmfcHojDeltUbikKzKhQftHI628JdhsNs01KtHPn3hcGPlnu-ghRY8jin8SVJEivKnGyujYS4-svkbczEtrZ5miv0PKUtHyWUaxCyVYza7H8RJaw11WZDkLkZvs/s1600/dragon+larva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zozqbx2_3lcxwA-ttmfcHojDeltUbikKzKhQftHI628JdhsNs01KtHPn3hcGPlnu-ghRY8jin8SVJEivKnGyujYS4-svkbczEtrZ5miv0PKUtHyWUaxCyVYza7H8RJaw11WZDkLkZvs/s1600/dragon+larva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zozqbx2_3lcxwA-ttmfcHojDeltUbikKzKhQftHI628JdhsNs01KtHPn3hcGPlnu-ghRY8jin8SVJEivKnGyujYS4-svkbczEtrZ5miv0PKUtHyWUaxCyVYza7H8RJaw11WZDkLkZvs/s1600/dragon+larva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-50509634375644049242013-11-06T14:14:00.001-08:002015-09-22T22:04:58.464-07:00Mussels and Clams<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2EtmK2P6hOq1BdroPOvPUVzsiu-MGQVXcn5PWGwYLj2XHZoMrFOCDHwms9BbUQxZcAeLYzXTBhsV2AEXkqLpL0M5Kfk4otFtscASJvH5-4NwKZWZYcv2_TwMdMiZRlqQutBHd2AThxw/s1600/IMG_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2EtmK2P6hOq1BdroPOvPUVzsiu-MGQVXcn5PWGwYLj2XHZoMrFOCDHwms9BbUQxZcAeLYzXTBhsV2AEXkqLpL0M5Kfk4otFtscASJvH5-4NwKZWZYcv2_TwMdMiZRlqQutBHd2AThxw/s640/IMG_0303.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Quagga mussels (<i>Dreissena rostriformis</i> ssp. <i>bugensis</i>) and Asian clams (<i>Corbicula fluminea</i>) have claimed some territory along the Central Arizona Project canal, far from their native habitats in Ukraine and southeast Asia respectively. A small pile of shells is spread out across the trail after being scraped out of pipes in a water treatment plant in north Glendale, looking quite out of place in this arid scene.<br />
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Hitching rides on ships and then on smaller boats, both species have become naturalized in many freshwater systems in North America including the Colorado River and its system of reservoirs and canals. The clams are considered to be symbols of prosperity in Asia and have also been intentionally introduced through the aquarium trade and as a source of food.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsibcBF-EA0dXbn064uIdanXoSlDNTfany7oJumcjcWAgh9SIuOAmJSb9J-wgtQxdV9z_viC03-cP-VcnhzOej1OGtT3BYPf4uUrdFWmnwDvypr_8sI60XqjLREHbSXBTpBZyR6bEKx4A/s1600/DSC_0014-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsibcBF-EA0dXbn064uIdanXoSlDNTfany7oJumcjcWAgh9SIuOAmJSb9J-wgtQxdV9z_viC03-cP-VcnhzOej1OGtT3BYPf4uUrdFWmnwDvypr_8sI60XqjLREHbSXBTpBZyR6bEKx4A/s320/DSC_0014-1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-10244370470356333612013-10-23T09:44:00.003-07:002013-11-06T09:16:14.223-08:00Katydid<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu5_ewYL24Ka5Ul39Z3_RZru0sBGGqQLTHCDrecIVfcBQfR8QN2GZzs222c30jUC9R3ATdA8IHQB9c75CzdtRNGKNRlwfUASQ3BRokcIf2dk-e498e5LFRp3e_mzjrmIb9ZAO-aZh6mk/s1600/elegant+katydid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu5_ewYL24Ka5Ul39Z3_RZru0sBGGqQLTHCDrecIVfcBQfR8QN2GZzs222c30jUC9R3ATdA8IHQB9c75CzdtRNGKNRlwfUASQ3BRokcIf2dk-e498e5LFRp3e_mzjrmIb9ZAO-aZh6mk/s640/elegant+katydid.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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This Elegant Bush Katydid (<i>Insara elegans</i>) appeared on my window screen recently. Also called a Mesquite Katydid, they are distinguished from other katydids by the long narrow wings marked with white stripes. Katydids are nocturnal, so this one seemed content to let me photograph it mid-day as it rested. The males are the source of some of the <a href="http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/091a.htm">rasping night sounds</a> coming from high in the trees during the summer around here. The name "katydid" is supposedly and onomatopoeia for this sound, but that's a real stretch, at least for this species. Elegant, yes, for the slim wings and extraordinarily long antennae. This was the first year in twelve that I've seen this species in our neighborhood, which makes me wonder: Have they always been around, and I just haven't noticed, or are they having an especially good year, so more abundant? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6py1-M8IJNXwDde9oy6pzRh_pG2jDjyHBilORpd2sjFnesD1n2cF0VJy2ASnG9SXuYuOT1tcCZEuwhClUQV3OBVSarLIcsmvvK-9RpFe5NTdHJ4Iaknnbp8w8qua70HzgjwORYKcJqsk/s1600/DSC_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6py1-M8IJNXwDde9oy6pzRh_pG2jDjyHBilORpd2sjFnesD1n2cF0VJy2ASnG9SXuYuOT1tcCZEuwhClUQV3OBVSarLIcsmvvK-9RpFe5NTdHJ4Iaknnbp8w8qua70HzgjwORYKcJqsk/s400/DSC_0091.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvvthtYj9Y3zCIIbKK_SteOIOPIUzQxW1E2oxQsVbUWg9gcRsA5JpxqkWKfFKU-ume6Ss4pZwmyBTttXm68W49yQbEH9nDrd3oX57fT3KosAKhrrY9iKG54EYRqbATJWbkNPpgih5bBc/s1600/elegant+katydid-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvvthtYj9Y3zCIIbKK_SteOIOPIUzQxW1E2oxQsVbUWg9gcRsA5JpxqkWKfFKU-ume6Ss4pZwmyBTttXm68W49yQbEH9nDrd3oX57fT3KosAKhrrY9iKG54EYRqbATJWbkNPpgih5bBc/s400/elegant+katydid-2.jpg" width="400" /></a>Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-18325363909230735652013-10-14T16:20:00.004-07:002013-11-06T13:32:21.561-08:00Desert Shaggy Mane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcK2IA5iDtxgxdfLi4_sIm4dHEfQz7v0tBoBmOSiGkjQLkm18jUbiUw6GIlQUtacLkCymnBswwh04UPkULC73PHxpm5ygKPOhzfiOIxz536CwG8mtZblPiM3JvAIEftiy1aYOCnxDGS8k/s1600/Podaxis+pistillaris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcK2IA5iDtxgxdfLi4_sIm4dHEfQz7v0tBoBmOSiGkjQLkm18jUbiUw6GIlQUtacLkCymnBswwh04UPkULC73PHxpm5ygKPOhzfiOIxz536CwG8mtZblPiM3JvAIEftiy1aYOCnxDGS8k/s640/Podaxis+pistillaris.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>
The desert shaggy mane mushroom (<i>Podaxis pistillaris</i>) or "black powderpuff" is actually a type of puffball. Open it up and, depending on the ripeness, it will either be filled with thick white goo or erupt in a cloud of dark spores. These began popping up in gravel along Highway 17 after monsoon rains at the end of July this year. Sadly, they are reported as being inedible not due to toxins, but because they are just plain foul-tasting, as well as tough and woody. However, if you are truly desperate, or just curious, munching on an immature stalked puffball won't kill you. This species is common in desert regions around the world. <a href="http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/aboriginal.html">Australian aborigines</a> have used the spores mixed with water for body paint and the dry spores for hair dye.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jXGIGr9QFmFT6OgLfgEzRzqmDBAOu4LfLXUHcZa1a3cZUxFrEOXeT_zgWpX0HuoxHYrau7pvPiVA7mbEgF97ppmBDv6HBo97LMZxWj65xjuyEZdU_oRcaZ77ucfWXjIIjsHnf9INmMg/s1600/False+Shaggy+Mane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jXGIGr9QFmFT6OgLfgEzRzqmDBAOu4LfLXUHcZa1a3cZUxFrEOXeT_zgWpX0HuoxHYrau7pvPiVA7mbEgF97ppmBDv6HBo97LMZxWj65xjuyEZdU_oRcaZ77ucfWXjIIjsHnf9INmMg/s640/False+Shaggy+Mane.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-61630212402090841232013-10-01T13:36:00.001-07:002013-10-14T15:59:44.476-07:00Tailless Whip Scorpion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night we had an unusual visitor on our front patio: a tailless whip scorpion (<i>Paraphrynus mexicanus</i>). These long-legged relatives of spiders and scorpions are actually quite common in the Sonoran Desert, but they are normally very secretive nocturnal creatures. At rest it will fold up all of its legs and become an innocuous looking black blob about the size of a quarter. But when it extends all of its appendages, the whip scorpion expands to the diameter of a dessert plate. Crawling sideways like a crab, it rivals any sci-fi creation ever imagined by Hollywood.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WpYK36I7zmPhrbkdbH4XlZM_gWTenDXHfxjygvTqoI7Cxt-A3tGGf2uQbr-Bk_AKSJHcoTUJCJ82Nrlg38GCXhed9h3o4LN9SU4dBfkyBcbYCfo1kSxfuSjkL9lbXsV2C4HBB1QZI04/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WpYK36I7zmPhrbkdbH4XlZM_gWTenDXHfxjygvTqoI7Cxt-A3tGGf2uQbr-Bk_AKSJHcoTUJCJ82Nrlg38GCXhed9h3o4LN9SU4dBfkyBcbYCfo1kSxfuSjkL9lbXsV2C4HBB1QZI04/s400/IMG_0188.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Two serrated claws, or pedipalps, are curled up in front of the face, which is beaded with five shining eyes. A pair of forelegs serve as long thin antennae that it waves around to feel for potential prey. <br />
They are members a group of arachnids called Amblypygids, which means "blunt rump," because they lack the curved tail that their cousins, the scorpions, wield for weapons. They have no venom or stinger, so are reportedly harmless to humans. Amblypygid moms carry their newly hatched young on their backs, a trait shared by scorpions; I like that these scary looking animals exhibit nurturing behavior.<br />
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Our visitor was very patient with us, posing for photographs and demonstrating its <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7wKyV7jMJ4&list=TLARE1WHJVPVHw9gE3Otn4bVaxVpQt7Q-w">graceful movements</a> without dashing away. Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to have a family of Amblypygids take up residence in our yard to help control the cricket population that has been keeping me awake at night. Or maybe they already have; it's been a little quiet around here lately.<br />
<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-47543789826526077122013-09-17T10:38:00.001-07:002014-02-23T11:00:07.380-08:00Toad-ally!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJuFD14efzcfUkLyKBAuODIinen2qJdiu8dF3ocw4VPMc5QG3DGDzPtV03HFmd9HDEm8T2CtlLK6pkOXqS2lOKwMaqXsi6OYyLDM3mvnW2cSSoVe6HVZn92sjbY0pCw3AvGq846VP6N8/s1600/IMG_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJuFD14efzcfUkLyKBAuODIinen2qJdiu8dF3ocw4VPMc5QG3DGDzPtV03HFmd9HDEm8T2CtlLK6pkOXqS2lOKwMaqXsi6OYyLDM3mvnW2cSSoVe6HVZn92sjbY0pCw3AvGq846VP6N8/s400/IMG_0191.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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On warm summer nights, some central Arizona neighborhoods are visited by these princes (and princesses) in disguise, Sonoran Desert Toads (<i><a href="http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Turtle-Amphibs-Subpages/h-i-alvarius.html">Incilius alvarius</a></i>). The New River corridor is a popular stretch of habitat for these wide-mouthed, warty amphibians. Although the adults are terrestrial, and content to spend most of the year in burrows that may be miles from any water, permanent or temporary ponds are necessary for reproduction. </div>
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They will take advantage of nearly any water source we provide for them, intentionally or unintentionally, to re-hydrate. Dog dishes, bird baths and shallow steps of swimming pools are perfect places to sit for a while and fatten up after a long winter below ground. Toads imbibe water through their skin, especially through a special "drinking patch" on their belly and hind legs. A few hours sitting in a mud puddle can make the difference between a "full" toad and a skinny toad. Although many folks regard them as pests, because they are also quite toxic, especially to dogs that harass them, having a few toads around can serve as effective pest management, since they will eat huge quantities of insects. </div>
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Toad scat is dry and ashy, essentially the keratinous remains of the insects they have eaten. This large sample of toad scat is compared to my ring; it's as thick as my finger, but not gooey at all. If you step on it, the turd turns to dust and blows away on the wind. Just another fun little nature tidbit for you!</div>
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-64066193330810983632013-09-03T12:21:00.001-07:002013-09-03T14:18:04.832-07:00Female Instincts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This elegant and docile looking nectivorous wasp is also a vicious predator who will slay spiders more than twice her size in order to insure the success of her children. Also known as a tarantula hawk or spider wasp (<i>Pepsis thisbe</i>), these huge wasps grow up to two inches (5 cm) long from the powerful jaws to the tip of their glossy black abdomen. Females can be identified by the curled tips of their antennae, while male antennae are straight. Both are commonly seen sipping nectar from a variety of flowers, and are especially fond of milkweeds. But only the female possesses a sharp stinger and the instinct to use it to deliver powerful neurotoxins to stun food for her offspring. Unless you harass her, there is very little chance that a tarantula hawk would attack a human. But if you are a tarantula, she will chase you down.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">We were fortunate to witness the aftermath of such a biochemical attack along the </span><a href="http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/salt2.html" style="text-align: left;">Upper Salt River </a><span style="text-align: left;"> last weekend. While walking along the road to our camp, we noticed a tarantula splayed out in the dirt. I poked it with my toe, but it didn't move. Within moments, a tarantula hawk started circling the spider, so I stepped away, and she landed on top of it and began to drag it up the hillside. We think she must have already delivered the neurotoxin that effectively paralyzes the prey, and was returning to retrieve it once it was completely immobilized. Unperturbed by our presence, we watched as she pulled the spider up beneath a rock. A single egg will be buried with the zombified spider, providing nutrition for wasp larvae as it develops into a two inch long grub, eating the spider alive as it grows. After the larvae has had its fill, it will pupate and remain in a resting stage underground for several months before emerging as an adult wasp. </span></div>
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I like knowing that for every tarantula wasp, there was once a big hairy tarantula walking the earth. We see a lot of wasps around, so that must mean that there are is an equally healthy population of tarantulas in the neighborhood. </div>
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-33903625085925793612013-08-26T14:04:00.003-07:002013-08-26T14:10:31.995-07:00Moth Night<br />
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Moth Night at the <a href="http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu/about_us.html">Boyce Thompson Arboretum</a> in Queen Creek last Saturday night attracted not only thousands of insects, but a few dozen naturalists and photographers ranging in age from 4 to 80. Using a pair of mercury vapor lamps mounted in front of a white sheet, entomologists from the Central Arizona Butterfly Association led the crowd in a frenzy of bug identification and admiration. </div>
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The star of the show was a single patient Western poplar sphinx, with its nearly six inch wingspan and thick furry body. Surrounding this moth were dozens of white-lined sphinx, cholla moths, silk moths, five-spotted hawkmoths, tiny variegated tiger moths, and a handsome rustic sphinx, all fluttering in the bright lights. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGatI7IOhEm4e6mYFUH-JC_ZJa91xpXJiEUMlmZTh1JFT0DA1B5tWelvwrqNiSfrOHot1e9eDzPhwqcZe41vmAM6OdFfqc5K0mrph2JaoRag7552f79b9mKoYq5VDiJgK4sFNm_wXq35Y/s1600/_DRR3031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGatI7IOhEm4e6mYFUH-JC_ZJa91xpXJiEUMlmZTh1JFT0DA1B5tWelvwrqNiSfrOHot1e9eDzPhwqcZe41vmAM6OdFfqc5K0mrph2JaoRag7552f79b9mKoYq5VDiJgK4sFNm_wXq35Y/s400/_DRR3031.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Beetles clamored to the scene by the dozens, including june beetles, blister beetles, mesquite beetles and click beetles. Cicadas, grasshoppers and bright green katydids also showed up. My favorite were the ant lion adults, elegant beasts with long lacy gray wings, and a pair of gracefully curved, thick, glossy antennae. Close encounters with three species of snakes and dozens of bark scorpions shining under black lights made this a 5-star event worth repeating in our own back yard. Next frivolous purchase: a <a href="http://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=2818">mercury vapor lamp</a>. <br />
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-55772645607275785782013-08-20T21:52:00.003-07:002013-08-20T21:52:54.959-07:00Crack Climbing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6E2M4DUWgz6dDMh5S8nHuPukiXRDRKPIDlqe4G_wUtxuhiUzjytJTX4y8x_MI5sdBZQzzgzhdU5jrZ-ialJ_xc8CvobzhLgfvYKUY7K52kzQL7C7LEVTYM9l58AYfdfrX4Iq32zOy-A/s1600/IMG_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzPcAMSoV1HwkkXAhxMN3fugmAzLYYCw3vjt4MPexWCKA54JiXok02YJJhj7C_yzy6T1eSTS-uI9KhsGAfDiFUt2Q5FTIIDwYLa9LwwAMysvSdiM5fF7a0c_FxOOix5T2G_uzFVwLfKs/s1600/IMG_0012-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzPcAMSoV1HwkkXAhxMN3fugmAzLYYCw3vjt4MPexWCKA54JiXok02YJJhj7C_yzy6T1eSTS-uI9KhsGAfDiFUt2Q5FTIIDwYLa9LwwAMysvSdiM5fF7a0c_FxOOix5T2G_uzFVwLfKs/s400/IMG_0012-1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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It might seem like life is over once a pond dries up, but mud cracks are moist shady refuges for all kinds of life. Seeds take root, mosses grow and new toads explore these tiny canyons. </div>
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Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917358839777274309.post-8952506001177415852013-08-13T18:50:00.001-07:002013-08-26T13:52:39.172-07:00Water Tigers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Water tigers live in ephemeral pools, devouring tadpoles, fairy shrimp, mosquito larvae and anything else it can grab with its jaws. These 2-3 inch long larvae of predaceous diving beetles are some of the most vicious predators in the desert suburbs, sucking the guts out of their prey and then disposing of the empty carcass. There are about a dozen species of predaceous diving beetles in North America, named <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dytiscus">Dytiscus</a></i> in Latin, which means "great diver." </div>
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My first encounter with a water tiger was here at a pond in Skunk Creek, just east of I-17 near the <a href="http://katherinedarrow.blogspot.com/2013/01/have-you-seen-bridge.html">pedestrian bridge north of Jomax</a>. Monsoon storms in late July this year revived myriads of critters that wait patiently in a dormant phase for water to return to the desert. When I first saw the dim outline of the larvae swimming in the murky water, I thought it was a small fish...but there are no fish in this usually dry wash. We captured one with a net and found that it had six jointed legs near its fearsome jaws, tipping us off to its identity as an insect. </div>
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At rest, the water tiger will lift its rear end to the water surface to breathe through a pore or spiracle at the tip of its abdomen. Like their adult form, a large flat beetle, they are elegant and rapid swimmers. The larvae will pupate in the mud once the pond begins to dry, emerging as an adult when the next storm cycle revives the ponds it lives in. We never saw any adult diving beetles, but did witness plenty of water tigers prowling in the pools. </div>
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<br />Katherine Darrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13983595191183136717noreply@blogger.com0