El Valle de Plata 'The Valley of Silver'. When the early Spanish explorers traversed the southwestern landscape, they were amazed at the number of silvery to bluish green plants that grow there. These colors of foliage make a striking contrast against the typical russet landscape of the Sonoran desert.
Botanically, the silvery to bluish green foliage of these many varieties of plants, bushes and trees are referred to as 'glaucous'; meaning they are covered with a white or bluish bloom of fine hairs which can be rubbed off easily. Their purpose is twofold: First to protect the plant against the loss of moisture and to reflect the heat of the sun away from the leaves; and, to collect and temporarily retain moisture from early morning dew and rain.
Many thanks to Moodflow and old_blaggard for making available the bush groups that are available for download at:
http://www.ashundar.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=179bc8b8e4e3cef279a9fdb93d641764&action=tpmod;dl=item294 ; and, to jcinbama for the Organ Pipe Cactus also available for download at:
http://www.ashundar.com/index.php?action=tpmod;dl=get308The range of the Organ Pipe Cactus includes a small area of the Sonoran Desert only from southwestern Arizona to western Sonora, Mexico. This columnar cactus is the second largest in the U.S. (next to the Saguaro) growing as tall as 23 feet. Instead of having a central stem, however, a cluster of 5 to 20 slender branches grow from a point at ground level and curve gracefully upward.
I also want to thank Tangled-Universe for his clip file of the four varieties of fake stones that grace this landscape.