(click to enlarge) At the end of January 2010 I went to Death Valley for a workshop led by Stephen Johnson. Accommodations were at Furnace Creek Ranch, and as I wandered out before breakfast the first morning, I saw this striking grove of date palms. Aside from their rough texture, they look out of place in Death Valley, and indeed they are. According to LearnNC , "Date Palms are a non-native species, and park rangers work to remove as many of the plants as possible, as they crowd out native flora and fauna."
