A quick glance and the land looks covered with a few cactai and dead bushes. But throughout the year, different plants come to life and bloom showing you that there are actually many different plant species here.
Chihuahuan Ringstem (Anulocaulis leiosolenus var. leiosolenus) – This is a gypsum loving perenial that is endemic to areas in and around Big Bend Ranch State Park. We have the perfect soil here for them and while they look like dead drift wood branches in the sand most of the year, with a little moisture they will leaf up and bloom these amazing little 1/2″ flowers.
A ringstem starting to leaf out.
The Living Rock cactus (Ariocarpus fissuratus) is another rare plant found in relative abundance on our land. They are hard to spot but usually where there is one there are many. In the fall/winter, those hillsides will be specked with their blooms.
An example that is not blooming and mostly exposed. Most of them are almost entirely covered with dirt and rocks.
These cactai only bloom for one day and we were lucky enough to catch a super bloom event. They are very localized on our property but we saw hundreds of them blooming and it was truely amazing.
If this image is zoomed in a bit you start to see by the blooms how many of these cactai are growing here.
Brown stipplescale lichen (Clavascidium lacinulatum) – I know this is not a plant but this lichen is prevalent here and very cool. My Dad taught me about lichens as a little kid during hikes but this looks nothing like ones I’ve ever seen. This is not a dormant phase but active growth which is surprising since it’s brown and sometimes black due to the UV resistant fungal layer.
To be ID’d grass
Chihuahuan fishhook cactus (Glandulicactus uncinatus ssp. wrightii) – These are tough to spot sometimes since they like to grow amongst grasses. It looks like they might be moving this into the Ferrocactus genera but I’ll have to research that more.
Yet to be ID’d flower growing in an arroyo.
We have a large flat mostly sand field that has a low point where water collects after rain. There are some 10-15′ tall mesquite trees in this spot and these flowers grow all around the immediate area.
We have spots with nice ocotillos (Fouquieria splendens) growing.
