Brittlebush flowers light up the slopes. Many of the wildflowers are blooming early. Time to get out the reference books and learn new plants. One old friend seems quite at home here. The leaves have the serrated look of a mustard leaf, but the surface is smooth and waxy like kale.
Raindrops bead up on the leaves like they do on a car with a fresh wax job.
Old dead plants stand among the living, evidence that Streptanthus has been here before. These are the skeletons of its 1998 incarnation. Arizona Twist Flower seems to know where home is, coming up repeatedly in the same places. Half-inch white flowers, reminiscent of bleeding hearts, alternate up the stems. When the warm weather comes, these plants will die.