Landscapes and Plants of New Mexico Day 1

View of White Sands NM from the New Mexico Museum of Space History

New Mexico Landscape

Trans Mountain Expressway outside El Paso, TX

I think this is a horticultural variety of lupine (Lupinus sp?)

Might be globemallow (Sphaeralcea sp?) with a visiting bee

Agave, possibly “century plant” (Agave americana)

Horticultural variety of lupine (Lupinus sp?) photobombed by a what I thinks is a fly (Order diptera)

Hard to say for sure but maybe a Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis exsanguis) with less of a tail and eating an insect

Mountain in Alamogordo, NM

Ant carrying another insect

Cactus close up 1

Sunset in Las Cruces

Pretty sure this is a grapefruit tree (Citrus X paradisi)

What I think is red mountain ice plant (Delosperma dyeri ‘Psdold’) 1

Bird in silhouette

Cactus close up 2

What I think is red mountain ice plant (Delosperma dyeri ‘Psdold’) 2

Might be a variety of Leucophyllum (Leucophyllum sp?)

I think this is a variety of globemallow (Sphaeralcea sp?) but could be wrong

Having reached Las Cruces the day before we spent the day seeing some sights of New Mexico. Unfortunately the shutdown of the government prevented us from visiting White Sands National Monument/Missle Range as well as many other places in southwestern New Mexico. So we decided to head up to Alamogordo just outside of the White Sands and visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History, after visiting the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. Suffice to say, this a nature photography blog not a travel blog 🙂 but both museums are worth a visit, especially the Farm and Ranch Museum which has some very kind and knowledgeable volunteers.

At the Farm and Ranch Museum there were  a lot of horticultural and agricultural varieties of plants. Century plants abound in the southwest with their towering flower stalks, and of course many cacti of which I took several close-ups. A fly (rather than a bee, click here for a nice page telling you how to tell) decided to visit what I believe was a horticultural variety of lupine. Also some form of mallow and leucophyllum (Don’t think it’s the “Texas Ranger” variety (Leucophyllum frutescens) but the link gives you an idea). Of the agricultural variety we have grapefruit trees which I didn’t realize are a hybrid, indicated by the ‘x’ between genus a species, Citrus X paradisi.

After the museum we headed to Alamogordo, famous for the first atomic bomb tests held nearby at White Sands and the nearby Holloman Air Force Base. There is a lot of history of both the atomic age and space flight due to tests and research conducted nearby. The Space History Museum also happened to have some nice grounds and offered a nice view of the White Sands National Monument’s famous white sands. The white sands are due to a high gypsum content and while driving by on the way to Alamogordo you can see some of the dunes next to the highway (which are very long and straight). On the grounds there were some beautiful ice plants, though they seem to be invasive, especially in California (link to pdf). Some insects were out and about including an ant hauling off another insect and bees visiting flowers. In a quick point and shoot, I caught a lizard which I think may be a Chihuahuan spotted whiptail having caught a meal and lost the tip of its tail at some point.

Year in Nature Photography – Day 123

Body of what I believe is Red Yucca, Red Hesperaloe (Hesperaloe parviflora)

Creosote bush fruit (Larrea tridentata)

Flowers of what I believe is Red Yucca, Red Hesperaloe (Hesperaloe parviflora)

Ants (family Formicidae)

Ants (family Formicidae)

Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) on a saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)

Day 3 of Arizona backyard photography.

It occurs to me that when I write longer posts I might want to have the pictures first. First off we have a picture of a mourning dove on top of a saguaro. Mourning doves are one of the most abundant native birds in North America, as partly evidenced by finding them all over Tucson as well as back home in Delaware. They are native and popular prey for hunting but they continue to thrive despite hunting pressures and habitat change.

There were a couple of colonies of larger red ants than I’m used to back east. I thought they might be fire ants, due to their red color, but it turns out that Arizona is one of the states with greatest ant diversity with around 318 native species. There are native fire ants which sting but not as bad as the red imported fire ant. Either way I felt caution was in order and with the colony so active I was hesitant to get closer. To truly figure out what species I have here I’d need a microscope or true macro lens to see details. If you look at the link I have given and go to the species field guide you’ll see how remarkably different looking different species of ants look.

From animals to plants, we have a native red yucca which isn’t actually a yucca. Additionally there is a yellow variety of the same species, so we have another example of a misleading common name. The red flowers are popular with humming birds. I also captured an image of the fruit of the creosote bush also called chaparral. Like the saguaro the creosote bush can live for up to 200 years. The plant produces a pungent but pleasant fragrance and has been used medicinally by Native Americans as well as being investigated by modern science for anti-cancer properties. It should be noted however that consumption is not recommended, due to the fact that when taken as an herbal supplement, it has been linked to liver and kidney problems.

Creosote bushes often form circular clonal colonies (all genetically the same) and even though they produce abundant seed, only a very few seeds are able to actually germinate. One of these clonal colonies is found in Joshua Tree National Park in California and is known as the “King clone” and using radiocarbon dating and known growth rates scientists have determined that this colony has been in continual existence for an estimated 11,700 years! Because the colonies are slow growing and have low seed viability, wiping out a colony can mean that it will take many years to become what it was. My own Master’s research on native bamboos indicated that bamboos are much like creosote bushes in that they form clonal stands and have low seed viability. When a stand of bamboo is wiped out, unless there’s a surviving few plants they often can’t recover.

Still more to come!

Year in Nature Photography – Day 53

Spent the day working on a final project for one of my classes. A business plan for a non-profit that brings plant education into classrooms. Was definitely interesting looking into what it might take, but I know there’s a lot more that goes into starting a business then I possibly covered. I did take the time to snap a few pictures. Caught another house sparrow taking over a birdhouse I evicted them from a few days ago (Day 46). Took a picture of a white clover and a head of grass. I was looking at some common vetch and saw it was crawling with ants so snapped a couple of pictures.

Grass seed head (sp?) Grasses are extremely difficult to Identify

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) with ants (Formicidae family sp?)

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) with ants (Formicidae family sp?)

a white clover (Trifolium sp?)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)