Page 30 - Walks In The Black Range

6. During the last week of March, Fendler Bladderpod, Physaria fendleri, begin to bloom in the middle portion of the trail.
7. Wright's Silktassel, Garrya wrightii, is found about half way up the trail (photo top right). In early March they had not begun to bloom but the fruit from the previous year was still apparent. The fruit starts out green and turns to purple before becoming black.
8. Wright’s Silktassel is often found in association with Alligator Juniper, Juniperus deppeana, pictured to the right. We found the two species together at our lunch spot, on our way down the mountain.
9. Wild Candytuft (aka Fendler’s Penny-cress) - Noccaea fendleri subsp. glauca - was blooming along the trail on March 28, at the higher elevations. (See left column of the following page). The individuals shown here are young, in older specimens the “clasping cauline leaves are evenly spaced all the way up to the inflorescence”.
10. At the spot where I photographed the Wild Candytuft there were at least two Western Bluebirds and two other flying critters. In the July issue of The Black Range Naturalist we discussed the decline of Bumblebee