Dyeweed (Emory indigo) bush Psorothamnus emoryi

Dyeweed (Emory indigo) bush Psorothamnus emoryi

A young Brittlebush Encelia farinosa, whose leaves have not yet acquired the fine hairs that give them their white color - not surprising, since that is a summer drought adaptation, and it is neither summer nor dry at the moment.

Burro bush Ambrosia dumosa

Branched pencil cholla Cylindropuntia ramosissima

Desert Chicory Bush / few-leaved wire lettuce Stephanomeria pauciflora

Smoke tree Psorothamnus spinosus

Close-up of flower of Narrow leaved forget me not Cryptantha angustifolia

Narrow leaved forget me not Cryptantha angustifolia

A phacalia, maybe Caterpillar phacelia Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida

Fruits on an indigo bush Psorothamnus schottii

Rush sweetbush Bebbia juncea var. aspera

Another tangle of Hairy milkweed Funastrum hirtellum

Close-up of the stem of a Hairy milkweed Funastrum hirtellum, showing its short but sharp hairs that give it its name.

Seed pods on a Hairy milkweed Funastrum hirtellum

Hairy milkweed Funastrum hirtellum twines around another plant

A drone fly nectars from a wire lettuce Stephanomeria pauciflora (named Desert Chicory Bush in Lightner, though since its specific 'pauciflora' means few-leaved, maybe 'few-leafed wire-lettuce' would be a better name for it).

Flowers on a cryptantha.

Fractures cause sharp displacements in a band of darker sediment

A California barrel cactus Ferocactus cylindraceus and Ocotillo Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens grow in a gully along the canyon.

Another Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii grows in the wash

A granitic bolder polished smooth by gravel carried through the wash shows a dyke of lighter material.

Gall on a Creosote bush Larrea tridentata, caused by a Creosote Gall Midge.

Flower on a Creosote bush Larrea tridentata

I thought this Creosote bush Larrea tridentata was interesting because as the wash continuously erodes the floor of the canyon deeper, this creosote bush's roots seems to be holding together a pillar of earth for it to survive on.

Buds on Arrow leaf Pleurocoronis pluriseta

Arrow leaf Pleurocoronis pluriseta growing out of the canyon wall.

Leaves of an Arrow leaf Pleurocoronis pluriseta.

Close-up of flowers on a Desert holly Atriplex hymenelytra. Each bud is a few millimeters across.

Close-up of a thorn on a Catclaw Senegalia greggii

Another Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii, growing out of a crack in the wall of the canyon

Desert lavender Condea emoryi bush

Flowers on a Desert lavender Condea emoryi.

Flowers on a Desert lavender Condea emoryi

Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii with a score of blooming flowers, and another score of buds.

A herringbone pattern of dark lines in the soil. They didn't seem to have much depth to them, so not sideways layers of sedimentary rock.

Closeup of Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii flower - an unusual size and color for a desert flower.

Another Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii

This first Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii was a bit underwhelming, with only two rays on one flower head

Side view of a magnificant flower on an Orcutt's woody aster Xylorhiza orcuttii

A very fuzzy juvenile house finch, in the backyard palm tree

Little leaved ratany Krameria erecta with its seed pod, with its harpooned tips.

Little leaved ratany Krameria erecta

Little leaved ratany Krameria erecta

White rhatany Krameria bicolor

Bushtit in the backyard lime tree.

California Towhee on a Broom baccharis Baccharis sarothroides

A California Sister butterfly on a Black (Gooding's) willow Salix gooddingii .

Cottonwood Populus fremontii ssp. fremontii

A common green darner in flight.