Desert Plant Xmas Decoration

[samhain31]

I lived in Palm Springs CA until I was twelve.
When I was about eight or nine, shortly before Christmas vacation, the elementary teacher took the class on a field trip into the desert which surrounded Palm Springs back in the late 1950s.

We were searching for certain dried-out plants that had died and lost their leaves.
They were about 18-20" high and vaguely lantern shaped. The wide-spaced leafless and rather smooth whitish stems formed a rudimentary cage.

The plants were brought back to to the classroom and we decorated them by painting them white, gluing glitter, tinsel etc. to the stems and hanging ornaments on the stems.

Anyone have any suggestions what dried plant we searched for and decorated?

[Desert Cruiser]

Tumbleweed maybe? It's Russian Thistle

Don...

[Apache Devil]

Mormon tea sounds like it could fit that description.

[yuccahead]

Probably a Birdcage Evening Primrose.

[yuccahead]

I found a photo of the dried primrose.

http://rangenet.org/directory/christiec ... EDE2p3.jpg

[reptilist]

Good job Rick!

[samhain31]

Thank you all for your help.

It WAS the Birdcage Evening Primrose, yuccahead.
Even before you linked a picture--just with the name you supplied--I recalled that my elementary teacher kept using the phrase "birdcage" to refer to the plant we were searching out.

The acreage where we did our "birdcage" hunting was where Gene Autry built the major league L.A. Angels Palm Springs spring training complex about seven years later.
A fine metaphor for the destruction by urban development of the Southern California desert, isn't it?
(Not that were weren't doing our own ecological damage by harvesting dried primrose from the desert, I now realize...)

And thank you, reptilist, for moderating a fine site which I now have near the top of my Bookmarks.

[reptilist]

And thank you, reptilist, for moderating a fine site which I now have near the top of my Bookmarks.

Thank you back at ya!

Welcome to the DUSA Wildlife Forum!

[yuccahead]

Thank you all for your help.

It WAS the Birdcage Evening Primrose, yuccahead

Glad to help

[Desert Cruiser]

I can't believe I've never seen one, but we'll keep a look out for them now that we know about them, Thanks.

Don....