Ives, Works of H.H.Bancroft, and Garces, by Elliott Coues.
The vegetation of the area, especially that of the lower half, possesses singular characteristics quite in keeping with the extraordinary topography.

Here flourishes the cactus, that rose of the desert, its lovely blossoms red, yellow, and white, illuminating in spring the arid wastes.

The soft green of its stems and the multiplicity of its forms and species, are a constant delight.

It writhes and struggles across the hot earth, or spreads out silver-spined branches into a tree-like bush, or, in the great pitahaya, rises in fierce dignity like a monitor against the deep blue sky.

And the yuccas are quite as beautiful, with their tall central rods so richly crowned with bell-like blossoms, the fantastic Clistoyucca arborescens, or Joshua tree, being more in harmony with the archaic landscape than any other plant there.