Exciting Desert Spring Flowers for Wordless Wednesday

I'm so excited, because whatever shape, size, color, or variety I see, desert plants near Tucson, AZ come alive with gorgeous blooms in the springtime. 

Many desert plants have thorns or spines to shade them, regulate plant temperature, store water, and protect them from hungry animals. 

See information about plant and animal colors in relation to survival at Unique Ways Colors are Key to Survival.

Orange Flowers Adorn an Ocotillo in the Sonoran Desert

This Gopher Plant blooms in the spring, with greenish yellow flowers

Golden Yellow is a cheery color of Many Desert Spring Flowering Plants

Hope you enjoyed seeing my photo essay. 

Did it pique your interest to learn more about the desert or inspire you to visit my neck of the woods?

Have you visited the U.S. southwest before and are tempted to visit again?

What color flower is your favorite?

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Wishing you a beautiful spring and

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Unique Ways Colors are Key to Survival

The color of each plant, mammal, bird, fish, reptile, insect, and amphibian that is alive today is the result of its evolutionary process. Color helps living things fit into their natural surroundings, whether it’s into the wilds of the jungle, plains, mountains, woods, desert, or sea.

Post updated 3/13/2022

In natural habitats, living things take advantage of their color and color patterns in different ways. 

In mating season, the male robin (bird) has bright red breast feathers to attract a mate. The male puffin (another bird) displays bright rings on his beak only during mating season. They fade away the rest of the year. 

Flounder (a type of fish) has scales to blend in with its surroundings and to ward of predators both from below and above. See more about fish camouflage now.

Many species of chameleons have skin that can change color and blend into its environment. Some types of wildlife have skin with spots or stripes, and it's used as disruptive colorization. This means animals including zebras have stripes in colors that disrupt the outline of its shape, and this pattern helps confuse its predators.

An eastern screech owl, who is almost a perfect color match to the bark of trees it hangs out on, can sleep restfully undisturbed, while those animals that hunt for him can’t locate him.

Vivid colors in the animal kingdom can have the reverse effect. They help animals stand out from the crowd. Some animals that display bright colors show they are poisonous. 

On the other hand, there are animals that use warning colors for mimicry. Their color is similar to ones used by dangerous animals, and this disguise offers protection to the harmless animal. 

Sometimes distinct colors act as a warning sign to other animals and people not to trespass. For instance, most of us know when we notice a small black creature scurrying nearby, to check out whether the animal has a white stripe running down its back. We may even have learned the hard way to keep a safe distance from that black and white skunk.