Different Kind of Bag

Road Trip ~ Desert Lessons continued

This is simply a lovely plant. Who would have guessed it had something in common with a simple grocery store item? Its lovely in the Spring but the pale lavender eventually fades as the flowers dry out. That's when it becomes more interesting to me. If a breeze is blowing or you brush against it when hiking, you hear the faint sound of seeds rattling inside the desiccated flowers, sort of like uncooked beans being shaken inside a small paper bag. And that's why its commonly called the paper bag plant. It's a lovely sound and just one more unique characteristic of the desert that I love so much.