RHH's photos with the keyword: plants

These are the berries of Desert Mistletoe, photographed along the trail to Lost Palms Oasis in Joshua Tree National Park.

It was mid-January when we were in Joshua Tree National Park and very few wildflowers were blooming, but these Saltbush seedpods caught my attention while hiking the trail to Lost Palms Oasis.

Two very common plants in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are Desert Agave and Creosote Bush, both of which are in the photograph, taken along the Hellhole Canyon Trail in the park.

This is a young stem of an Ocotillo plant. Ocotillo is common in parts of the desert southwest of the United States and Mexico. It is not a cactus though many identify it as such. This example was photographed along the Hellhole Canyon trail in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Photographed in the Geiger Conservatory at Manito City Park, Spokane.

Photographed in the Geiger Conservatory at Manito City Park, Spokane.

There are at least three different lichens in this photo. Lichens are difficult to identify, but the wispy Lichen is probably Witch's Hair, the branched Lichen may be Forking Bone and the Lichen growing close to the twig in several places Ragbag. These were photographed on a family hike to Newman Lake and Turtle Rock east of Spokane. Our daughter from Northern Ireland was visiting and wanted to do some hiking. We went with two of our daughters and a number of grandchildren. These photos remind me of a hike we did years ago with a lady who was an expert on lichens. We learned a lot from her but she left a trail of belongings behind that we quickly learned to pick up and take along for her so that they would not be lost. If I remember she left her glasses, her camera, her hiking pole and her coat behind in the woods, along with other items. She confessed that she was on her third or fourth camera, having lost the others, though none of them were expensive cameras.

These lichens were photographed near Newman Lake in Eastern Washington. I am not very good at identifying these but this may be Antlered Bone.

Photographed near Newman Lake in Eastern Washington, these Lichens and Mosses were growing on a twig. Lichens are difficult to identify but these are probably Ragbag and Bearded Bone and the Moss probably Twisted Ulota.

I was fascinated by the caps that each clump of needles wears until it is pushed off by the expanding growth.

One more photo of this lovely plant. Taken in a commercial greenhouse.

I have been trying for weeks to get a photo of a head of dandelion seeds that was a bit different and that showed their ethereal character. I don't know if this has succeeded, but it is the only shot with which I was at all happy.

Didn't know whether to post this or not, but thought I'd let you all judge. ---During the Middle Ages bunches of horsetail were often used as scouring pads to clean iron and pewter pans, kitchen utensils and pewter, because of its high silicon content. It has also been used by cabinet makers as a fine sandpaper for polishing wood. ---There are records of horsetail's history of use as a herbal remedy as far back as ancient Roman and Greek times. The correct species of horsetail must be used and there are dangers in using any horsetail species. Horsetail is a diuretic. It helps to eliminate water from the body, this can cause dehydration and for people who are on some medications such as lithium, dehydration is dangerous. Horsetail can cause loss of potassium for people with heart problems or others who are using medications based on digitalis this can be dangerous. Quoted from: www.thewesternisles.co.uk/wildflowers/horsetail.htm