Cane Cholla Cactus and Yellow Blanket Flowers
The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown is providing more than ample time to set an agenda for studying my new camera equipment, described with examples in my previous post Asiatic Lily and Daylily. A combination of Fujifilm X-Stories, B & H Video Event Space and Fuji Guys Channel provide Fuji-specific photography education from basic to advanced topics.
Fujifilm X-T3, Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4, Fujinon XF100-400mm F4.5-5.6
CANE CHOLLA CACTUS
(Tree Cholla Cactus)
Cactus Family Cactaceae
Upright, brushy to tree-like cactus 2-8 ft. tall, common in foothill scrub and piñon-juniper woodland, 4,000-7,500 ft. Flowers at tips of branches, red to magenta, up to 3 in. diameter, 1 1/2-2 in. long. Blooms late May through July. Considered as “starvation food”; many Pueblo Indian tribes utilized stored, roasted young stem joints in times of famine. Dried fruit was ground, mixed with cornmeal, and made into a mush. Stem needles used for sewing and tattooing.
YELLOW BLANKET FLOWER
(Yellow Gaillardia)
Aster Family, Asterceae
Perennial up to 24 in. tall, on roadsides and in sandy open spaces, foothill scrub, and piñon-juniper woodlands, 4,000-7,000 ft., typically in more central mountains. Blooms June through September. Infusion used as a diuretic for painful urination by Hopi. Western Keres rubbed the plan on mothers’ breasts to wean infant; leaf infusion taken and a poultice of leaves applied for gout. A decoction used by Navajo for nausea and heartburn. Ray flowers yellow, tipped with 3 teeth.
Plant and flower information from:
Wildflowers of the Northern and Central Mountains of New Mexico Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia, and Manzano,
By Larry J. Littlefield & Pearl M. Burns