#phreatophyte

The lower seaward flank of Rushikonda Mountain,Rushikonda Beach,Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, circa  the year 2008. One would think that such utterly dry rubble, talus and scree couldn’t possibly support plant growth, but it does!! and at lush green dumose density!! What was remarkable was the banded - caterpillar-like - form of these twin tight compact clumps with a furrow between them. I am unable to come up with an explanation for both the oblong habitus and the cause of the mysterious furrow between them. These photos were shot using a simple point-and-shoot camera using 35-mm film, yet possess an immediacy and lushness and density of detail that only film can have. The uppermost photo is a close-up of the furrow.

March 1, 2020, Yarada Beach, Andhra Pradesh..

Phreatophyte or xerophyte plant growth on the desiccated rock surfaces on the shoreline of Yarada Beach, Visakhapatnam. May 26, 2019.

Solar-forced diurnal regulation of cave drip rates via phreatophyte evapotranspiration Katie Coleborn, Gabriel C. Rau, Mark O. Cuthbert, Andy Baker, and Owen Navarre Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4439-4455, doi:10.5194/hess-20-4439-2016, 2016 This http://www.environmentguru.com/pages/elements/element.aspx?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr&id=4121315

Background and aims: We sought to understand the environmental constraints on an arid-zone riparian phreatophtye, saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima and related species and hybrids), growing over a brackish aquifer along the Colorado River in the western http://dlvr.it/4CZdzk

Following the eradication of invasive phreatophytes on floodplain areas in the Southwest, plant establishment by direct seeding is problematic on many sites because of deep water tables, fine-textured saline soils, aridity, and no flooding potential. http://dlvr.it/47NCf9