February Calendar Flower - Gravel Ghost

Gravel Ghost - Atrichoseris platyphylla

George captured this image in Death Valley in March of 1981.

While Atrichoseris platyphylla is in the aster family and shares characteristics with chicory (tobacco) , it is unique enough to get its own genus - hence it is a monotypic genus.

The Gravel Ghost flower emerges on a plain stalk rising out of a flat disc of well camouflaged leaves. The small 1 1/2” flowers seem to float suspended in the air - hence one of its other common names “parachute flower”.

Growing from Sand and Gravel

The Gravel Ghost must get its cue to emerge from a significant rainfall in the desert. The plant typically likes hillsides - such as shown in George’s image above - and valleys or washes.

Like the Desert 5 Spot, the Gravel Ghost was a flower George couldn’t photograph enough. It’s easy to see why. How astounding that this graceful little flower is produced from such harsh conditions.

In creating this Nature Musing blog post, I discovered a cool Blog page, “In Defense of Plants” by Matt Candeias. Take a look: In Defense of Plants