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Botany walk with Dr. Barbara Carlsward, Biological Sciences, on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois on September 14, 2023. (Jessica Nantes)
Taken in the same locale as the Part 1 photo, which provides helpful ecological and geological context for this close-up. Along FM 170, about 55 yd / 50 m up the road from the entrance to the Grassy Banks Campground.
Few Southwestern-botany enthusiasts would disagree that the legume genus Lupinus is one of the glories of the desert's wildflower community.
These annual plants, blooming along the roadside in a very fast-draining, gravelly substrate, belong to L. havardii, the Big Bend Bluebonnet. It's a bit difficult to tell from this steep angle, but they were about 1 ft / 0.3 m in height. However, their species has the potential to grow three or four times as high if conditions are especially favorable.
The flowers themselves are gorgeous. They're a deep indigo with banners that have a cream-colored central spot changing to mimosa yellow and then mandarin red as they age. Those various tints are visible even on this grainy old slide transfer.
When I examined the soil here, I found it was mostly composed of grains, pebbles, and cobbles of basalt and lithic tuff. That came as no surprise in this volcanically derived terrain, which not too very long ago had been repeatedly blanketed with pyroclastics and paved with lava flows.
To see the other photos and descriptions in this series, visit my From Lajitas to the Cuevas Amarillas Locale album.
I love this place. So strange, eerie. The storm was brewing to make it even more fabulous. We raced back to the car and returned the next day.
Botanica do Sentimento
2006-07
nanquim, fita, pedras, papel, oleo s/ tela, betume
2,20 x 2,00 x 3,20 m
GROVELAND, California (June 16, 2025) – Tonya Bills, Groveland District Biologist, and Brian Hux, Groveland Natural Resource Specialist work along Forest Road 1S12 in the El Portal area to flag all known Regional Forester’s Sensitive plant occurrences on the district as well as infestations of invasive species. The work is the beginning phase of work in support of the El Portal Fuel break. (U.S. Forest photos by Benjamin Cossel)
Botany walk with Dr. Barbara Carlsward, Biological Sciences, on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois on September 14, 2023. (Jessica Nantes)
GROVELAND, California (June 16, 2025) – Tonya Bills, Groveland District Biologist, and Brian Hux, Groveland Natural Resource Specialist work along Forest Road 1S12 in the El Portal area to flag all known Regional Forester’s Sensitive plant occurrences on the district as well as infestations of invasive species. The work is the beginning phase of work in support of the El Portal Fuel break. (U.S. Forest photos by Benjamin Cossel)