Death Valley Redux – Pt. 3 – What is That Orange Bush?
As I was driving on the paved roads of Death Valley looking for wildflowers and other photographic subjects, I noticed areas that had a large number of “orange bushes”. The sight of so many in many places made me think about a possible photo opportunity. I finally stopped to take a closer look and try to capture an interesting image.
I had never seen a plant of this type and was curious as to the details of the organism. Looking closer at the plant, I had two thoughts. One, it was a very unique flower of the bush (sage) that it was growing out of or, two, it was some kind of parasite.
After some research it turns out that my second thought was correct. It was Cuscuta californica, California dodder or chaparral dodder. It is a parasitic vine that grows throughout the south western United States and lives on small shrubs and other plants.
That information is all good and well, but the bottom line is that they are a small, bright spot of orange in the middle of the desert and have tremendous photographic potential.
Below are two examples of the plant. I would really like to take this picture when the sky is more interesting.
Cuscuta californica
Cuscuta californica
Please feel free to leave comments or let me know if you have any questions.
Tags: Death Valley, Images, Nature, Photography