Mojave Desert Plants

Frills

I love desert plants so when I saw a photo of this species from Guy Tal, I wanted to see it for myself. After scouring all my Mojave Desert guidebooks and iNaturalist, I had an idea of a few places it might grow. My first few location ideas were a bust but on a hike in a remote area of Death Valley National Park, Ron spotted this plant! This small, beautifully fuzzy plant! It was much smaller than I imagined it would be and was difficult to spot since it blended into its environment so well. This rare perennial herb flowers in the spring, although I was happy to see it in this pre-flowering state for photo purposes. Credit for inspiring me to seek out this plant goes to Guy Tal and credit for remembering to bring along a macro lens on the hike goes to Ron.