There is no getting around it, every summer monsoon when the borderlands come to life it is so exciting! Apodanthera undulata, the crazy melon, can be easily seen along the roads and out across the land during this season. The clusters of yellow flowers give it away quickly. Those yellow flowers close up pretty quickly later in the morning. You can see the spent and tired flowers in the photo below. And check out the crazy ribbed fruit with the “disagreeable odor” as noted in Arizona Flora. Hey, it’s melon loco in the Cucurbitaceae! Yay!
I grew up in Kentucky where the state flower is goldenrod. The particular species that has that honor is Solidago gigantea. I wonder how...
Oh my goodness, there are beetles, bees and moths that visit the open flowers of Calylophus harwegii from late afternoon and through the night....
Lotus greenei has the common names of deer vetch, deer clover or, red and yellow pea. I like the last one best as it...
