Encelia farinosa (brittle bush, incienso) loves rocky hillsides and gravelly desert. And though this native shrub has a large range showing up in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts, for me personally the bright yellow flowers atop the silvery foliage shout, “Sonoran Desert!”
If you’re interested in ethnobotany (and why wouldn’t you be?) this is a good plant to add to your journal with its many uses, from chewing gum to incense. And good native plant nurseries grow and sell this wonderful wide ranging native, so plant or 2 or 3 in your personal habitat to remind you that, “the desert is beautiful.” Yeah it is.
I couldn’t find any digital photos of brittle bush in my collection (35 mm slides, yes, of course), but there are numerous photos on line. Well, of all things, I found and really liked these pics at at a web site about the Mojave Desert called BirdandHike.com. I thank them.
Jackass clover is Wislizenia refracta and the botanical name of clammy weed is Polanisia dodecandra. They are both in the Cleome family Cleomaceae. Many...
Searching our pantry and chest freezer has been quite an adventure. We’ve even found some unlabeled items in the freezer. “What do you suppose...
The genus Artemisia is found in the sunflower family Asteraceae and there are over 200 species found around the world in the northern hemisphere....
