Great Basin Wildflowers on the Drive to Corey Peak

Catching the wildflowers before the summer heat 

Locating the sometimes allusive wildflowers in the Great Basin Desert for photos can be a tricky task.  Most often it comes down to getting lucky with Mother Nature.  Although the Great Basin Desert is noted as a cold desert, the sun is hot and will bake the rocky soil in a matter on minutes.

What fascinates me with desert wildflowers, along with the fragile beauty, is their tenacity and miracle of adaptation in these harsh environments.  A rocky landscape hardly seems the ideal place for wildflowers to thrive.  However, the Woolly groundsel (Packera cana) in the aster family benefits from growing near rocks due to the mulching effect from the rocks to retain moisture.  

With the El Nino weather pattern bringing more rain and snow during the winter and spring of 2016, many of the wildflower seeds that were lying dormant have sprung to life.  To take advantage of this rare opportunity, I have been traveling to areas that I hope will have different types of wildflowers that adapt to the elevations.

One area that I recently visited was the mountainous area of Cory Peak.  Located on the east side of the Wassuk Range and to the east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cory Peak stands at 10,520 foot, 3206 meter elevation.  I found that a number of flowering plants were already past their bloom. 

The white flowers of this large Sierra Mountain Misery shrub had dried up and turned a rusty red color. 

Mountain Misery or Chamaebatia foliolosa was so named by the miners because of its strange odor and that it seemed to grow everywhere.  Many Native American Tribes valued the plant as a remedy for treating various illness.

Pale yellow flowers of Bitterbrush, one of the first shrubs to bloom in the spring, was in various stages of bloom.  The shrub gives off a pleasant spicy, cinnamon fragrance and provides sustenance for deer and other types of wildlife. 

Deep purple, thick clusters of Pursh's  Milkvetch (Astragalus purshii)  accented many areas in the disturbed rocky soils. 

Newberry's Milkvetch with pink-lavender flowers in the Fabaceae family were showing off in the gravelly areas.

Flowering in the open flat areas at mid-elevations Nuttall's Linanthus (Leptosiphon nuttallii)  of the Phlox genus was adding a delicate touch to the rugged terrain.  

Accents of bright yellow with the Sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) a species of wild buckwheat stood out at the mid-elevations.   

A foreboding looking plant, the Granite prickly phlox (linanthus pungens), was just beginning its bloom in the higher elevation washes.

One of the largest shrubs of Mormon tea that I have encountered was taking up a huge space along the road-side.  The unique plant appears to have no leaves, just jointed leafless branches.  The branches have been used for medical purposed by numerous peoples; including the Mormon Settlers from which its name is derived.   

During the month of July, most of the wildflowers at lower elevations will succumb to the desert heat.  Locating these desert wildflowers to me is like being a kid on a treasure hunt, it's so exciting to see what nature creates like with this bouquet of  Desert Paintbrush and Milkvetch.

Follow my blog to see where my next Photo-adventure takes me.  However till then, if you happen to be in the New York area from June 30th. through July 3rd. stop by and see my photography in the "Revolution of Summer" Exhibition, Curated by Lyza Sahertian NYC ArtHouse; LOFT 227, 227 W. 29th St. 4F New York City.  Reception June 30th, from 7 to 9pm.
 

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

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Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

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