Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • The old Boca Grande Lighthouse on Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Old Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • The Boca Grande Lighthouse on Florida's Gulf Coast on Gasparilla Island.
    Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • Old Port Boca Grande Lighthouse - Now a museum, this Gasparilla Island Lighthouse on Florida's West Coast is said to be haunted by not one, but two ghosts!
    Old Port Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • We went specifically to see these exotic invasive lizards on the island of Boca Grande, Florida after hearing about how they are taking over the whole island. We saw about 100 in an afternoon.
    Spiny Iguana
  • Four of the many peaks in the Grand Tetons, from left to right - Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot. These stunning snowy mountains are found just south of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
    Grand Teton National Park
  • Standing at 7,325 ft, Casa Grande (Spanish for "Big House") is the fourth highest peak in Texas' Chisos Mountains and is found in the heart of Big Bend National Park.
    Casa Grande in the High Chisos Mountains
  • A close-up of the tiny flowers of sheep sorrel blooming in the Grand Tetons on a chilly summer day up in the Grand Teton Mountains.
    Sheep Sorrel
  • Beautiful snowy mountains, a crystal-blue lake and a gorgeous summer day in the Grand Teton National Park, in northwestern Wyoming.
    Perfection!
  • A close-up of the  showy larkspur - seen here in Grand Teton National Park. Poisonous to cattle and somewhat dangerous to sheep - this summer bloomer is found at high elevation grasslands and meadows in western-central North America.
    Showy Larkspur
  • Showy larkspur (also known as low larkspur) is a member of the buttercup family that is found growing in the Rocky Mountain states, the Dakotas, and most of Western Canada. This intensely purple-blue specimen was photographed a the edge of the Shoshone National Forest where it becomes Grand Teton National Park.
    Showy Larkspur
  • A wild and free American buffalo (or bison) posed beautifully for me in the Grand Teton National Park in Northwestern Wyoming.
    American Buffalo
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • The sweet-scented heliotrope looked like a mini-morning glory to me at first glance, but a closer look showed this wonderfully scented member of the borage family is also the largest of America's native heliotropes. Like many desert wildflowers, the sweet-scented heliotrope opens in the evening and can be found in all of the southwestern states as well as Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. This one was found in the early evening just after opening up in Utah's Moab Desert.
    Sweet-Scented Heliotrope
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • Double Arch is found in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah and is part of the amazing red alien sandstone landscape that is called the Moab Desert. This area has the largest number of natural stone arches than anywhere else in the world, but what makes this rock formation so unique is that they were both eroded from the very same piece of stone. Most arches are formed from water erosion flowing either within or from the sides of the rock over the millennia, but these two arches were formed from water eroding from the top of the stone, downwards. For this reason they are called pothole arches. Because this photograph was made at the beginning of a sudden storm, you can see the rainwater running down the rock from the top of the arch, and this is the very process that carved these arches to begin with, and that will also eventually one day cause this magnificent national treasure to collapse.
    Double Arch, Moab Desert, Utah
  • The famous North and South Window arches at 4am on an incredible moonlit night deep in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    North and South Window Arches at Night
  • One of the 2000+ arches found in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park, lit by an extraordinary moon on a hot summer night.
    Moab Desert at Night
  • A waning gibbous moon on a warm summer night in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah at nearly 4am. It was so bright out that I could easily navigate between the cacti and jagged rocks without my flashlight!
    Desert Moon
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in the Moab Desert all seemingly asleep among a few bushes on the side of the road in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in the Moab Desert all seemingly asleep among a few bushes on the side of the road in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • An incredibly tiny western pygmy-blue sits motionless in a shrub on a hot summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • A rare view of the opened wings of a live western-pygmy-blue in Utah's Moab Desert. Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • The desert cottontail (Audubon's cottontail) is a common rabbit native to the American Southwest, very similar to other cottontails around the world, but adapted to live in arid, desert-like environments. It gets all of its water from the grasses, cacti and other forbs. It is also a very important food source for the many carnivores of the desert including golden and bald eagles, great horned owls, ferruginous hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. This one was photographed early on a summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Desert Cottontail (Audubon's Cottontail)
  • The desert cottontail (Audubon's cottontail) is a common rabbit native to the American Southwest, very similar to other cottontails around the world, but adapted to live in arid, desert-like environments. It gets all of its water from the grasses, cacti and other forbs. It is also a very important food source for the many carnivores of the desert including golden and bald eagles, great horned owls, ferruginous hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. This one was photographed early on a summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Desert Cottontail (Audubon's Cottontail)
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • Close-up of a red-spotted toad, one of the few amphibians found in the deserts and plains of the American Southwest. Because water is scarce in these areas, they can be often heard after a heavy rain as a piercing high-pitched trill that means the males are calling for females, as breeding opportunities are few and far between. Eggs are laid singly and fertilized, and will hatch within hours. Six to eight weeks later, the tadpoles (if they survive and the water lasts long enough) will reach adulthood.
    Red-Spotted Toad
  • A great blue heron catches a northwestern garter snake in the wetlands in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Olympia, Washington on a beautiful springtime afternoon.
    Great Blue Heron - Dinner for One
  • Although beautiful with a vibrant blue to purple color, the showy larkspur contains toxins like several other species of Delphinium. This is one of many blooming larkspurs that were found around my campsite in Northwestern Wyoming as I was traveling across the continent.
    Showy Larkspur
  • The western serviceberry is a native member of the rose family that grows as a small compact shrub. If North America was divided diagonally NW/SE - this service berry would be common in the NW part - especially in Western Canada. This one was photographed<br />
 in its extreme southern range in Northwestern Wyoming.
    Western Serviceberry
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • Also known as the desert Indian paintbrush, linearleaf Indian paintbrush,  narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, and Wyoming desert paintbrush, this is one of the tallest of North America's Castilleja species, reaching upward to four feet and sometimes growing in such density that they can appear more like a shrub than the typical, low-growing singular forb wildflower one would expect to see among Indian paintbrushes. These unusually orange (they are usually red) beauties were found blooming in profusion in Utah's Arches National Park.
    Wyoming Indian Paintbrush (Castillej..lia)
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • Some of the amazingly beautiful rock formations photographed here at dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    Moab Rock Formations
  • The wonderous rock formations of Utah's Arches National Park look even more spectacular on a wildly moonlit night in the Moab Desert.
    Moab Desert in Moonlight
  • Balanced Rock silhouetted against the moonlit sky on an extraordinary night in the Moab Desert at about 4am in Eastern Utah.
    Balanced Rock in Silhouette at Night
  • Long exposure of balanced rock in Arches National Park in Utah's Moab Desert lit entirely by moonlight.
    Balanced Rock at Night
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • A Mormon metalmark rests midday on a warm late-summer day just east of Provo, Utah in a canyon clearing full of wildflowers and magpies.
    Mormon Metalmark
  • The desert cottontail (Audubon's cottontail) is a common rabbit native to the American Southwest, very similar to other cottontails around the world, but adapted to live in arid, desert-like environments. It gets all of its water from the grasses, cacti and other forbs. It is also a very important food source for the many carnivores of the desert including golden and bald eagles, great horned owls, ferruginous hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. This one was photographed early on a summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Desert Cottontail (Audubon's Cottontail)
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • At home in the heat of the American Southwest, this red-spotted toad slumbers throughout the driest parts of the year, and emerges with the rains that come in spring and summer. This one was photographed in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Red-Spotted Toad
  • A red-spotted toad is reflected in a rare pool of water - a leftover from a massive storm that passed through the Moab Desert the night before. The brilliant blue sky reflected beautifully from this angle.
    Red-Spotted Toad
  • Mixed media - photograph and digital painting
    Sea Gull of Boca Grande
  • This stunningly red relative of the firefly, the bloody net-winged beetle uses aposematic coloration (warning colors) to its advantage. The bright red and black coloration/pattern is a strong warning to others that might want to eat it that it is toxic to eat and best left alone. This one was photographed just as it landed on a desert shrub below the Chisos Mountains in West Texas, near the Rio Grande River.
    Bloody Net-winged Beetle
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited Prickly Pear
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited Prickly Pear
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, this one was found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, this one was found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • Because the parasitic desert broomrape doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • Close-up of the desert broomrape, showing off the beautiful and unusual hairy flowers. Because it doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful parasitic plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • Not really a toad - it's a spadefoot (no poison glands), this Couch's spadefoot toad was one of many dozens found after a sudden flash-flood in Western Texas along and near the Rio Grande River. Because they are found only in very dry, desert-like habitats, these spadefoots spend a significant amount of their lives buried underground in a state of hibernation, only emerging after the first spring or summer rains. They will find water immediately and mate the first night. Because these sudden seasonal pools can dry up so quickly, emerging tadpoles can mature in as little as nine days after hatching from their eggs!
    Couch's Spadefoot
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited Prickly Pear
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited Prickly Pear
  • The spiny-fruited prickly pear (Opuntia x spinosibacca) is a naturally occurring hybrid between two overlapping Opuntia species (O. aureispina and O. phaeacantha) found in the Big-Bend Region of Texas and is believed to be reproducing with others of the same hybrid in the wild, which is a common way over time we end up with distinct new species. In some circles, it is already being referred to as a unique species: Opuntia spinosibacca. Although they are considered rare in the wild, I happened to find many hundreds of them in bloom like this one spread out in the lowland region north of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in West Texas near the Rio Grande.
    Spiny-Fruited 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
  • This cactus is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus and is common from mid-to-high elevations, favoring volcanic soils. The cylindrical stem of this cactus may branch to form large colonies. Rusty-red flowers with darker purplish maroon midstripes and greenish-yellow anthers grow from the middle third of the stem and do not open very wide. Found in the United States only in Brewster County in the Big Bend area of Texas, these were found growing below the Chisos Mountains near the Rio Grande.
    Brown-flowered Cactus
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