There were not many flowers in bloom in the Anza Borrego Desert in the last days of February when I had the chance to visit. Chuparosa was a brilliant exception. It was ablaze in the lower reaches of Palm Canon. Chuparosa is hummingbird in Spanish, and the plant is sometimes called Hummingbird Bush…but there are a lot of bushes called hummingbird, including the more widespread Flame Acanthus, and only one Chuparosa. And besides, Chuparosa is such a great sounding name!

I took quiet a few pictures of the flowers, but settled on this one, the most extreme close up, for today’s post because it shows the subtle texture of the petals and stems. As you might expect from a desert plant, both are lightly furred to retain as much moisture as possible.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. –1/3EV exposure compensation. 24mm macro with 1.5x digital tel-converter. f4 @ 1/800th @ ISO 125. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.