Verde Canyon Trip #11
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Verde River Valley Trip #11
Verde Valley Wildlife

Beargrass (Nolina microcarpa).

General structure of a devil's claw basket. The primary coils are made from slender, fibrous bundles of beargrass leaves (often Nolina microcarpa). Secondary coils are made from narrow strips of yucca leaves which are tightly wound around the slender beargrass bundles. White secondary coils are from sun-bleached dried yucca leaves (often Yucca elata), while green coils are from unbleached dried yucca leaves. Pliable black strips of devil's claw horns are tightly coiled around the beargrass leaves to produce the dark patterns.

Yucca elata in southern Arizona, the source of leaves for basketry in southwestern indigenous people.

  See The Wayne's Word Devil's Claw Article  
Devil's Claw From Death Valley, California

Excavated living quarters (rooms) at Tuzigoot National Monumant.

Verde River Valley near Clarkdale, Arizona.

Glorious beetle (Plusiotis gloriosa) on display at the Red Rock State Park Visitor Center.

The glorious beetle (Plusiotis gloriosa), one of the most beautiful beetles in North America. It belongs to the large and very diverse family Scarabaeidae, along with June beetles, rain beetles and rhinoceros beetles. Adults feed on juniper foliage in the southwestern United States (Texas to Arizona and northern Mexico). Their striking color actually serves as camouflage by blending in with the native vegetation.

  See The Wayne's Word Beetle (Order Coleoptera)  

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