Desert Holly, Dry Wash. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Desert holly plants grow along the curves of a small desert wash.
Among plants that manage to eke out an existence in dry landscapes, such as that of Death Valley National Park, there seems to be a spectrum of accommodations to dryness. Out near the sharp edge of that bell curve is found the desert holly plant. In some of the locations where I see it, the plant seems to be just about the only thing that is still able to live on the driest and rockiest soils.
The specimens in this photograph are growing along the course of a dry wash, and they probably get a good portion of whatever small amount of water that sustains them during brief periods when water flows following rainstorms. (It had rained heavily during the previous month here… and there was no visible water in this wash.) The plants present a sometimes surprising bit of green in this otherwise arid and bare landscape.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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