#notholaena standleyi

[fatchance]

Stonescapes.

Lichens, mosses, and ferns, plump and lush after a heavy rain. On the Geronimo Trail, South Mountain Park and Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona. These photos are from my archives, from an outing in May 2015. Our monsoon rains have been very scant this season, and I imagine all of these plants are waiting, dry and dormant right now. 

[natural-reflection]

Star Cloak Fern or Stadley's Cloak Fern Notholaena stadleyi

Concan, Texas, United States, 2015 Garner State Park

[fatchance]

Suddenly Green.

A few days ago the Phoenix area got an unexpected soaking: a winter-like storm moved through, dropping 0.9 inches of rain (2.4 cm), the highest total ever seen for the date since measurements were first recorded. Little low-growing things responded immediately to the moisture. Papery, desiccated ferns unfurled, parched lichens plumped up, and shriveled mosses grew soft and lush, and all overnight - a temporary desert miracle. 

The fern (top photo) is a Standley’s cloak fern (Notholaena standleyi). The Seri people of Sonoran Mexico carried cloth bags filled with the fern as a good luck charm. I have made no attempt to identify the lichens or moss. 

At South Mountain Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona.