There’s are the humble beggings of bananas

Echinocereus rigidissimus and its otherworldly bloom.

Did you know jumping spiders have a sweet fang?

Many jumpers can be seen around flowers this is because they will feed on nectar and pollen, hanging around flowers also has the benefit of attracting flying insect prey.

This is no portal to another world.. well it is if you’re a fungus gnat. The flowers of the Dutcham’s pipes (Aristolochiaceae) are designed to entrap pollinators with their floral configuration. Those rear facing hairs prevent insects from escaping. Ingenious!

What can be said about Penstemon that hasn’t been stated? With over 280 species it is versatile in terms of habitat but the majority of species grow in depauperate soils, it is cherished as a garden plant due to its resilience and pollinator plant for abundant nectar.

Pictured: Penstemon digitalis.

Gonialoe variegata is a beautiful Aloe relative native to Southern Africa. It is used extensively in horticulture to form many beautiful and intricate hybrids with other Aloe species. This plant is about 4 years old from seed.

Lepismium cruciforme is an epiphytic cactus with the cutest pink flowers. When stressed this cactus turns a brilliant pink/purple not unlike it flowers.

The claws of Aloe aculeata.

many young aloes are adorned with sharp tubercles on their leaves. I can attest to their sharpness I have given myself many a’ finger prick after carelessly fumbling around these plants. It is protection from herbivores that drives these development of these sharp spines

Dicentra eximia, eastern bleeding heart is an uncommon plant all around. This plant was thought to be extirpated in my home state of New Jersey until state botanist David Synder found a population growing on a rocky escarpment. Though it persists it remains imperiled on the state. (1).

The Cedros island live-forever is a rosette succulent from Cedros island off the south west coast of Mexico. It is a highly sought after plant, often poached from the wild for collectors. Despite its rarity and endemicity it is not all that hard to grow from seed, like these were.

This tiny gem with an umbel of small white flowers is a Ginseng. Panax trifolius is dwarf Ginseng a diminutive member of the Ginseng genus. It’s a true ephemeral and its vegetative stage scarcely lasts into late May. Its root is small and astringent making it unpleasant to consume.

The palisades are home to a peculiar aster. Symphyotrichium patens. Or late purple aster. This aster is fond of dry sandy soils commonly found on the thin basalt ridges of the palisades. It is a stunning plant with gorgeous deep purple ligules.

Haworthiopsis nigra seedlings… these guys are REALLY tiny!

While everyone looks to the trees for fall colors herbaceous plants put on a show. This poke milkweed is a luxuriant hay yellow. A stark contrast from the verdant green is displays in the warmer months.

Speyeria cybele or the great spangled fritillary is a long lived butterfly as an adult. Males emerge first in mid June and may persist until early September

Quercus turbinella is another spectacular desert oak native to the American south west and Baja. California. Even seedlings take on a beautiful glaucous hue

Carex platyphylla is a denizen of rocky slopes. It is one of the few native plants that survive in over browsed understory of the palisades, growing in small colonies.

as with any woodland Carex spp. is is susceptible to habitat fragmentation and trampling.

If you ever need a good example of the use of the word “juxtaposition” here is! This is where a native meadow meets a lawn of a basic corporate office building.. take a guess which property sees more butterflies and birds.

I had the honor of acquiring seeds of Quercus cornelius-mulleri.. I fell in love with xeric oaks after visiting California for the first time.