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  • One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. This one was found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • A rare find! Usually found singly, this trio of young fishhook barrel cacti was found and photographed in the Alamo Canyon, deep in the Ajo Mountains of Southern Pima County, Arizona near the Mexican border.  The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas.
    A Trio of Fishhook Barrels
  • The cane cholla is a very common native cactus species found across much of Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico. It prefers sandy to loamy soils at lower elevations, and has a lot of variety when it comes to flower color, and they are almost always very bright in color: yellow, pink, red, orange, etc. These were found just north of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Ajo, Arizona growing naturally in the Sonoran Desert on a bright, sunny spring morning near the Mexican border.
    Cane Cholla
  • Augochlora sweat bee feeding on the abundant nectar of a grizzlybear prickly pear cactus while collecting pollen in Central Washington.
    Augochlora Sweat Bee on Grizzlybear ..Pear
  • This native buckwheat has just past its peak flowering and as the flowers begin to droop, seeds will ripen that will feed the wildlife of the sagebrush desert, like here in Central Washington's Cowiche Canyon.
    Parsley Desert Buckwheat
  • A widespread North American naturalized wildflower that orginates from the Old World, the white campion is a summer bloomer that is found often in disturbed areas. This one was photographed<br />
 about 35 miles south of Seattle, Washington in suburban Federal Way.
    White Campion
  • The unexpectedly unusual fruit of the red-flowering currant looks like a dusty, slightly spiky blueberry or huckleberry but can be found in great profusion in particular parts of the Pacific Northwest from the river bottoms to the lower elevations of the Cascade Mountains. Although somewhat sweet but rather mushy, it typically isn't eaten by people but is a great food source for wildlife, especially birds. These pretty clusters of berries were found growing next to the Green River about 20 miles south of Seattle, Washington on a warm summer day.
    Red-flowering Currant Fruit-4.jpg
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • This South African native succulent perennial with its very attractive bright pink and/or yellow flowers has found its way to both California and Florida thanks to the ornamental plant industry and has particularly found a foothold along Southern California highways, earning it the nickname "highway ice plant." Originally used as a soil stabilizer due to its matting, ground-cover nature it has unexpectedly spread into several sensitive ecological habitats such as coastal communities and desert dune habitats where it quickly outgrows and outcompetes threatened and endangered plants. This one was found growing in a sprawling mat across the sandy beach in Los Angeles, California next to the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Ice Plant Flower
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Close-up view of the teddybear cholla in flower. This common and impressive native cactus of the American Southwest is found Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, as well as most of Northern Mexico. Casual passing contact will not only cause immense sharp pain, but the piece of the cactus touched will detach from the main part of the plant and tag along for the ride. This evolutionary and reproductive tactic is why this cholla is often called the "jumping cholla" - it will hop a ride with anything that touches it, eventually fall to the ground and once it roots, grow a whole new cactus. This one was found growing (without touching) along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Teddybear Cholla
  • The brown-spined prickly pear (also regionally known as the tulip or desert prickly pear) is another widespread member of the Opuntia genus that is found throughout all of the American Southwestern States including Nebraska and even South Dakota and is found across most of Northern Mexico. One of the things that make this particular species so amazing is the adaptability to drastically different environments: it can be found thriving in the driest of lowland deserts to the moist, cold forests of the Rocky Mountains. As a result, there are several variable physical attributes that make identifying this species confusing at best. Springtime flowers are variable from lemon yellow, orange or pink, usually with but sometimes without a reddish center. This one was found growing in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona near the Mexican Border.
    Brown-Spined Prickly Pear
  • The cane cholla is a very common native cactus species found across much of Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico. It prefers sandy to loamy soils at lower elevations, and has a lot of variety when it comes to flower color, and they are almost always very bright in color: yellow, pink, red, orange, etc. These were found just north of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Ajo, Arizona growing naturally in the Sonoran Desert on a bright, sunny spring morning near the Mexican border.
    Cane Cholla
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • This natural hybrid (Opuntia engelmannii x phaecantha) of two common and local prickly pear cacti - the Engelmann's Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii) and the brown-spined prickly pear (Opuntia phaecantha),  shows characteristics of both and have resulted in a large, mature beautiful cactus growing at some elevation in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona. Since so many of our native members of the Opuntia genus are so closely related and have overlapping natural ranges, hybridization is common among many species, and is the source of much confusion and frustration for biologist and naturalist alike! This particular plant has the beautiful silvery white spines and flower petal shape of O. engelmannii and the flower coloration and growth pattern of O. phaecantha.
    Natural Prickly Pear Hybrid
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • This unusual flattened, short cactus is more common in its range than one might think, but because it barely grows above the ground level and can be as wide as four inches. Easier to find in the spring and summer, it can be difficult to spot in the winter when it is nearly below ground level and may be partially covered in gravel. The little nipple cactus (as well as all other members of its genus) are much more common in Mexico, but this species can be found in the United States in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. This one was found and  photographed in the Chisos Mountains in Texas' Big Bend.
    Little Nipple Cactus
  • The red-flowering currant is a beautiful red to pink (based on location) deciduous shrub native to the Pacific Northwest. This one was photographed in the late spring in a forest in Steven's Pass, Washington.
    Red-flowering Currant
  • One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. This one was found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • While not a native to the Americas, this Eurasian import can be found in the wild across all of North America almost as far south as the US/Mexican border. This was one of many widely-spaced plants growing on the edge of the Umtanum Creek in a canyon in Central Kittitas County, Washington.
    White Campion
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Close-up look at the fishhook-like spines of the aptly-named fishhook barrel cactus, this one found and photographed between the Ajo and Puerto Blanco Mountains ranges in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Pima County, Arizona. This rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Bright yellow fruit emerge and develop throughout the year after its bright orange blossoms are pollinated in summer, and by the following spring they will look like this. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas.
    Fishhook Barrel Cactus Spines
  • The brown-spined prickly pear (also regionally known as the tulip or desert prickly pear) is another widespread member of the Opuntia genus that is found throughout all of the American Southwestern States including Nebraska and even South Dakota and is found across most of Northern Mexico. One of the things that make this particular species so amazing is the adaptability to drastically different environments: it can be found thriving in the driest of lowland deserts to the moist, cold forests of the Rocky Mountains. As a result, there are several variable physical attributes that make identifying this species confusing at best. Springtime flowers are variable from lemon yellow, orange or pink, usually with but sometimes without a reddish center. This one was found growing in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona near the Mexican Border.
    Brown-Spined Prickly Pear
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • The nylon hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus var. cylindricus) is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus, and is found in a narrow band stretching from the Big Bend of Texas and Mexico to southern New Mexico, and is mainly found in the Franklin Mountains near El Paso, Texas. It has distinct creamy orange flowers and shows extreme variability in spine color: white, yellow, brown, reddish, black. Some plants have only short radials while other have a variable number of centrals. This one was photographed in the Big Bend National Park near the Rio Grande.
    Nylon Hedgehog Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • Unusual variety of the grizzlybear prickly pear cactus (Opuntia columbiana) near Naches, WA showing unusual flower size and particularly long white spines.
    Grizzlybear Prickly Pear
  • Wild golden currants vary in taste from plant to plant, much like other berry-producing plants. These currants range from light yellow to orange, red, and even black. Personally I think the orange and red ones are the sweetest, and the yellow ones (those that are fully ripe) are a bit bitter. All of them have large seeds inside, that are easier eaten than spit out. These were photographed (then eaten) in Cowiche Canyon, just to the west of Yakima, WA.
    Golden Currant
  • This mountain forest-loving red-flowering currant may not produce the edible currants many of us love to eat, but these flowers will certainly draw many spring hummingbirds! Color varies from bright red to pale pink.
    Red-flowering Currant
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one with bright red flowers was found and photographed in Southern Arizona's Diablo Mountains near the Mexican border.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • The Arizona fishhook cactus (also known as Graham's nipple cactus) is not only limited to Arizona, but is  also found in California, New Mexico and Texas, as well as much of Northern Mexico. One of the most interesting things about this particular native species of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts are the recurved "fishhook" spines. This one was found in Southern Arizona's Diablo Mountains near the Mexican border.
    Arizona Fishhook
  • This unusual flattened, short cactus is more common in its range than one might think, but because it barely grows above the ground level and can be as wide as four inches. Easier to find in the spring and summer, it can be difficult to spot in the winter when it is nearly below ground level and may be partially covered in gravel. The little nipple cactus (as well as all other members of its genus) are much more common in Mexico, but this species can be found in the United States in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. This one was found as it was just about to flower in Big Bend National Park, in the lowlands just north of the Chisos Mountains in Western Texas.
    Little Nipple Cactus
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • This incredibly beautiful (and red!) mound or hedgehog cactus is a rather common sight in the Guadalupe Mountains. In several parts of the range I saw dozens if not dozens of dozens all in bloom. That vivid bright red color made them easy to spot from a distance!
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. This one was found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • The red-flowering currant is not only a Pacific Northwest native found from Northern California all the way up to British Columbia, it is also a prized garden and landscaping shrub grown for its brightly colored and scented flowers in early spring. This one was found alongside Deep Lake in Enumclaw, Washington.
    Red-Flowering Currant
  • This South African native succulent perennial with its very attractive bright pink and/or yellow flowers has found its way to both California and Florida thanks to the ornamental plant industry and has particularly found a foothold along Southern California highways, earning it the nickname "highway ice plant." Originally used as a soil stabilizer due to its matting, ground-cover nature it has unexpectedly spread into several sensitive ecological habitats such as coastal communities and desert dune habitats where it quickly outgrows and outcompetes threatened and endangered plants. This one was found growing in a sprawling mat across the sandy beach in Los Angeles, California next to the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Ice Plant Flower
  • Roundleaf alumroot is a historically important member of the saxifrage family found in drier forests of western North America. Many Native American peoples used the extremely astringent pounded roots (hence the name based from the word alum) as poultice to stop bleeding wounds or as a tea to treat sore throats. It is still often used as an ingredient to help colored dyes stick to fabrics, baskets, etc. These were found in the foothills of the eastern Cascade Mountains in Kittitas County.
    Roundleaf Alumroot
  • A rare find! Usually found singly, this trio of young fishhook barrel cacti was found and photographed in the Alamo Canyon, deep in the Ajo Mountains of Southern Pima County, Arizona near the Mexican border.  The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas.
    A Trio of Fishhook Barrels
  • The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas. This one was found and photographed between the Ajo and Puerto Blanco Mountains ranges in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Pima County, Arizona.
    Fishhook Barrel
  • The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Bright yellow fruit emerge and develop throughout the year after its bright orange blossoms are pollinated in summer, and by the following spring they will look like this. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas. This one was found and photographed between the Ajo and Puerto Blanco Mountains ranges in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Pima County, Arizona.
    Fishhook Barrel
  • The brown-spined prickly pear (also regionally known as the tulip or desert prickly pear) is another widespread member of the Opuntia genus that is found throughout all of the American Southwestern States including Nebraska and even South Dakota and is found across most of Northern Mexico. One of the things that make this particular species so amazing is the adaptability to drastically different environments: it can be found thriving in the driest of lowland deserts to the moist, cold forests of the Rocky Mountains. As a result, there are several variable physical attributes that make identifying this species confusing at best. Springtime flowers are variable from lemon yellow, orange or pink, usually with but sometimes without a reddish center. This one was found growing in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona near the Mexican Border.
    Brown-Spined Prickly Pear
  • Engelmann's prickly pear is one of the most (if not the most) widespread of the prickly pear cacti. It is found in all of the American Southwestern States (except Colorado) and can even be found as far east as Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri and is widespread throughout much of Mexico. Oddly enough , it has become an invasive species in Kenya! The sweet, juicy fruits are a traditional and still very important food source wildlife an for many tribes and nations of the Native Americans and is commonly used in Latin American cuisine.
    Engelmann's Prickly Pear
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • Common in lower elevations of western/southwestern Texas and much of Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, this is the only native prickly pear in the region without long spines. Instead, brown hair-like glochids grow in the areoles, which if touched, can be quite painful and difficult to remove. This one was  photographed just north and below the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas.
    Blind Prickly Pear
  • Common in lower elevations of western/southwestern Texas and much of Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, this is the only native prickly pear in the region without long spines. Instead, brown hair-like glochids grow in the areoles, which if touched, can be quite painful and difficult to remove. This one was  photographed just north and below the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas.
    Blind Prickly Pear
  • The nylon hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus var. cylindricus) is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus, and is found in a narrow band stretching from the Big Bend of Texas and Mexico to southern New Mexico, and is mainly found in the Franklin Mountains near El Paso, Texas. It has distinct creamy orange flowers and shows extreme variability in spine color: white, yellow, brown, reddish, black. Some plants have only short radials while other have a variable number of centrals. This one was photographed in the Big Bend National Park near the Rio Grande.
    Nylon Hedgehog Cactus
  • Also known by other other common names such as the devil's-head cactus and horse crippler, this small, extremely slow-growing native cactus of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts is found in Southern Arizona and New Mexico, Western Texas and can be found in the wild as far south as Mexico City. This cylindrical cactus is usually found alone, rather than in clusters and is believed to live to 75-100 years! The dense, wooly-haired mass at the top of this eagle claw cactus will produce a large 2-3 inch pink flower by the end of each summer. This particular cactus was found and photographed in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County in Western Texas in mid-April.
    Eagle Claw Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • Also known as the purple prickly pear, this incredibly beautiful Mexican Opuntia cactus develops fantastic purple pads that perfectly compliment the bright yellow (sometimes red) flowers. Native to Northern Mexico from Baja California to the Chihuahuan Desert, its American range extends only into Pima County in Southern Arizona where these were found in peak bloom and photographed just outside of the park borders of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Santa Rita Prickly Pear
  • Unusual variety of the grizzlybear prickly pear cactus (Opuntia columbiana) near Naches, WA showing unusual flower size and particularly long white spines.
    Grizzlybear Prickly Pear
  • Fairly widespread across most of North America, excluding the Southeast and the extreme Northeast, the golden currant is a member of the currant and gooseberry family. In early spring, this plant is covered in hundreds of beautiful small bright yellow flowers. By late spring and early summer, the limbs of this small water-loving shrub become heavily laden with golden yellow/orange edible fruits, such as these growing next to Cowiche Creek, just west of Yakima, Washington.
    Golden Currant
  • The Mojave mound cactus is one of those many types of barrel cacti found throughout the American Southwest. The main key to identification (besides geographic location) are the reddish/rosy, somewhat flattened spines that are a brighter red at the tips. This trio was photographed in the Cottonwood Mountains of the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Mojave Mound Cactus
  • High-key, classic soft focus photograph of a teddybear cholla blossom while shooting in California's Mojave Desert. It was a blindingly bright afternoon so I didn't have a lot of shooting options, but I'm glad I made time for this one.
    Teddybear Cholla
  • Closeup detail of a blooming teddybear cholla in the Mojave Desert. Nothing says "be careful" like this impenetrable mass of bristling spines, each of which packs a mind-numbing whallop!
    Teddybear Cholla
  • Sheep sorrel is a very widespread invasive member of the buckwheat family that originated from the Mediterranean region of Eurasia. Found in every state of the US and in every province of Canada, it is usually found in disturbed areas from the coastline to the sub-alpine elevations of mountain ranges across North America.
    Sheep Sorrel
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • Newly budding bitterroots growing at the top of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington. A sometime food source of many of the Native Americans who inhabited the Western plains and sagebrush deserts where the bitterroot grows, the first European explorers found the roots too bitter to be palatable, so the first to arrive - the French named this plant the "racine amer" translated literally as bitter root. Not are these some of the most beautiful of all the flowering plants of the summer, these are also the toughest!
    Bitterroot
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • This great find in a purplish prickly pear cactus flower (Opuntia azurea) in Big Bend National Park in West Texas was an exciting one for me. This bee assassin bug is a clever hunter of bees and other pollinating insects found throughout much of North America. It is most often found inside flowers waiting to stab the unsuspecting insect attracted to the flower's sweet nectar with its sharp proboscis, where it will literally drink its prey dry. Even though this one is covered in pollen, you can still see the warning colors of black and red (aposematic coloration) warning birds and other predators that this bug is not safe to eat or hunt.
    Bee Assassin on Purplish Prickly Pear
  • This South African native succulent perennial with its very attractive bright pink and/or yellow flowers has found its way to both California and Florida thanks to the ornamental plant industry and has particularly found a foothold along Southern California highways, earning it the nickname "highway ice plant." Originally used as a soil stabilizer due to its matting, ground-cover nature it has unexpectedly spread into several sensitive ecological habitats such as coastal communities and desert dune habitats where it quickly outgrows and outcompetes threatened and endangered plants. This one was found growing in a sprawling mat across the sandy beach in Los Angeles, California next to the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Ice Plant Flowers
  • This South African native succulent perennial with its very attractive bright pink and/or yellow flowers has found its way to both California and Florida thanks to the ornamental plant industry and has particularly found a foothold along Southern California highways, earning it the nickname "highway ice plant." Originally used as a soil stabilizer due to its matting, ground-cover nature it has unexpectedly spread into several sensitive ecological habitats such as coastal communities and desert dune habitats where it quickly outgrows and outcompetes threatened and endangered plants. This one was found growing in a sprawling mat across the sandy beach in Los Angeles, California next to the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Ice Plant Flower
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Close-up view of the teddybear cholla in flower. This common and impressive native cactus of the American Southwest is found Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, as well as most of Northern Mexico. Casual passing contact will not only cause immense sharp pain, but the piece of the cactus touched will detach from the main part of the plant and tag along for the ride. This evolutionary and reproductive tactic is why this cholla is often called the "jumping cholla" - it will hop a ride with anything that touches it, eventually fall to the ground and once it roots, grow a whole new cactus. This one was found growing (without touching) along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Teddybear Cholla
  • The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Bright yellow fruit emerge and develop throughout the year after its bright orange blossoms are pollinated in summer, and by the following spring they will look like this. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas. This one was found and photographed between the Ajo and Puerto Blanco Mountains ranges in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Pima County, Arizona.
    Fishhook Barrel
  • This natural hybrid (Opuntia engelmannii x phaecantha) of two common and local prickly pear cacti - the Engelmann's Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii) and the brown-spined prickly pear (Opuntia phaecantha),  shows characteristics of both and have resulted in a large, mature beautiful cactus growing at some elevation in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona. Since so many of our native members of the Opuntia genus are so closely related and have overlapping natural ranges, hybridization is common among many species, and is the source of much confusion and frustration for biologist and naturalist alike! This particular plant has the beautiful silvery white spines and flower petal shape of O. engelmannii and the flower coloration and growth pattern of O. phaecantha.
    Natural Prickly Pear Hybrid
  • This natural hybrid (Opuntia engelmannii x phaecantha) of two common and local prickly pear cacti - the Engelmann's Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii) and the brown-spined prickly pear (Opuntia phaecantha),  shows characteristics of both and have resulted in a large, mature beautiful cactus growing at some elevation in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona. Since so many of our native members of the Opuntia genus are so closely related and have overlapping natural ranges, hybridization is common among many species, and is the source of much confusion and frustration for biologist and naturalist alike! This particular plant has the beautiful silvery white spines and flower petal shape of O. engelmannii and the flower coloration and growth pattern of O. phaecantha.
    Natural Prickly Pear Hybrid
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • The cane cholla is a very common native cactus species found across much of Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico. It prefers sandy to loamy soils at lower elevations, and has a lot of variety when it comes to flower color, and they are almost always very bright in color: yellow, pink, red, orange, etc. These were found just north of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Ajo, Arizona growing naturally in the Sonoran Desert on a bright, sunny spring morning near the Mexican border.
    Cane Cholla
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Also known as the purple prickly pear, this incredibly beautiful Mexican Opuntia cactus develops fantastic purple pads that perfectly compliment the bright yellow (sometimes red) flowers. Native to Northern Mexico from Baja California to the Chihuahuan Desert, its American range extends only into Pima County in Southern Arizona where these were found in peak bloom and photographed just outside of the park borders of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Santa Rita Prickly Pear
  • Almost ready to eat! These golden currants are about to burst with tart, fruity goodness along the banks of Cowiche Creek as it flows through the desert steppe in Central Washington.
    Golden Currant
  • The pencil cholla is easily distinguished from other cholla cacti in the American Southwest by the scale-like arrangement on the stems that is often referred to as a diamond pattern. I thought the yellow coloration on the spines were beautiful, especially backlit like this here in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Still a small cluster of Mojave mound cacti, this grey-green species of barrel cactus with their distinctive dusty pink spines normally is found in clumps of 20-40 stems. Also known as a cottontop cactus (you can see what appears to be a ball of cotton at the top of each one), in June or July in the hottest part of the desert summer, a bright yellow blossom will flower. These were found and photographed while I was searching for some shade in the Mojave desert.
    Mojave Mound Cactus
  • This young(er) teddybear cholla in Joshua Tree National Park is still mostly covered with fresh spines, all pale, dense, and waiting for a passerby to touch it, enabling a piece to be broken off and carried off to start another plant as soon as it touched the ground. I was unfortunate enough to have a piece stuck to my bare calf, then had my hand stuck to it as I tried to pull it off of me. It was shockingly painful, much more so than any other California cactus I happened to get pricked by.
    Teddybear Cholla
  • The unexpectedly unusual fruit of the red-flowering currant looks like a dusty, slightly spiky blueberry or huckleberry but can be found in great profusion in particular parts of the Pacific Northwest from the river bottoms to the lower elevations of the Cascade Mountains. Although somewhat sweet but rather mushy, it typically isn't eaten by people but is a great food source for wildlife, especially birds. These pretty clusters of berries were found growing next to the Green River about 20 miles south of Seattle, Washington on a warm summer day.
    Red-flowering Currant Fruit-2.jpg
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • Tough and beautiful! One of the toughest plants in all of North America, the bitterroot is also one of the prettiest. The bitterroot grows natively in all the western continental states (excluding Arizona), including Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, where it remains dormant for most of the year buried under snow, ice, and completely dried up in hot desert sand. In late spring to early summer, this ground-hugging perennial of the sagebrush deserts and plains puts out one of the most incredible white to bright pink flowers, that shows in very sharp contrast to the surrounding habitat. These were found growing at the top of some of the hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain near the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
    Bitterroot
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • This South African native succulent perennial with its very attractive bright pink and/or yellow flowers has found its way to both California and Florida thanks to the ornamental plant industry and has particularly found a foothold along Southern California highways, earning it the nickname "highway ice plant." Originally used as a soil stabilizer due to its matting, ground-cover nature it has unexpectedly spread into several sensitive ecological habitats such as coastal communities and desert dune habitats where it quickly outgrows and outcompetes threatened and endangered plants. This one was found growing in a sprawling mat across the sandy beach in Los Angeles, California next to the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Ice Plant Flower
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