I concentrated on a few fall bloomers in the Aster family that have yellow flowers and I bet you thought of other species that should have been included. It will be one huge Autumnal Asteraceae Festival!
I have a tinge of guilt leaving out plants like the Baccharis species I mentioned, but I will give them a celebration later this fall…at least Baccharis sarothroides (desert broom), right?
I believe that the genus name Aldama honors Juan Aldama who fought in the Mexican War of Independence and is a national hero. I learned that many towns and places are named in his honor, so maybe the plant name is in his honor or a place named in his honor. Either way, that’s pretty cool.
The photos are mine of Aldama cordifolia, the former Viguiera cordifolia, but still heartleaf goldeneye.
The scientific name for our gopher snake (or gophersnake. I’ve seen it written both ways) is Pituophis catenifer. The genus looks like a combination...
In the early 1990s when this story and song came about I was poking around the West Branch starting at Ajo Road and north...
I have two books on my shelf about desert bighorns. The Desert Bighorn, It’s Life History, Ecology and Management. Edited by Gale Monson and...