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| (Fig. 01) Title - Fiery Veins |
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| (Fig. 02) |
Picture Notes: I captured the picture of a burned bush (Fig. 01) that got caught in the fire that swept through a portion of Lovell Canyon (Fig. 03) during the early part of July 2013. Its charred branches reminded me of the veins and arteries that course through the human body, hence the title “Fire Veins”. Because it still seemed to be well rooted, I wonder if it will ever “come back”. The next time I hike this area I plan to check on it. I have actually come across this plant on previous hikes. The one in (Fig. 02) was taken along the (Lower) Lost Creek Falls Trail inside the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Though I’m not sure of its identification, based upon its reddish brown bark and the fact that it produces clusters of pink flowers, I think it might be a either a Green Manzanita (Ericaceae Arctostaphylos) or a Arctostaphylos densiflora.
Description: Green-leaf Manzanita is a bushy evergreen shrub with smooth, reddish brown, spreading stems which are up to 3-4 high and can propagate by layering, and growing to 6 feet with stiff, gnarly branches. The leaf is Alternate, simple, persistent; 1 to 2 inches long, leathery, and ovate to elliptical; entire margins, green and smooth on both surfaces, often orient themselves perpendicular to the sun's rays. Foliage is sparsely covered with short hairs and yellow glands. Short-stalked, pinkish-white, urn-shaped flowers are clustered in branched inflorescences on the stem tips. The urn-shaped corolla, which is ca. 2.3 inches long, has 5 short lobes, and the calyx has 5 nearly separate sepals. There are 10 stamens. The brownish, glabrous berry is 2-1/2-3 inches across.
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| (Fig. 03) |
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