Death Valley Trip #6
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Death Valley Trip #5

Desert Holly (Atriplex hymenelytra) in Death Valley.

Desert Holly (Atriplex hymenelytra) in Death Valley.

An assortment of winged, one-seeded fruits (utricles) of saltbushes (Atriplex) from the Death Valley region. Saltbushes belong to the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae). From left: (A) A. canescens, (B) A. confertifolia, (C) A. hymenelytra, (D) A. polycarpa and (E) A. parryi.

Desert puffball (Podaxis pistillaris) pushing through a dried silt depression in Death Valley. This species is also called desert shaggy mane because of its superficial resemblance to the shaggy mane gill mushroom (Coprinus comatus). Unlike the true shaggy mane, it does not have gills and does not deliquesce (dissolve into an inky mass). According to David Arora (Mushrooms Demystified, 1986), this desert puffball is known from all contintents except Antarctica. In Death Valley National Monument it grows from below sea level to 5,000 feet elevation in the Panamint Range.

Collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) photographed in Titus Canyon in 1981.

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