either. How bizarre.

Plants of Kayenta

Araucaria
The typical Araucarian trees 
appear here, as they do north in 
the Morrison. They keep to small 
sizes, could be due to a limit of 
water in the soil. Quite uniquely, 
the canyons funnel the air at 
such speeds and forces that 
Araucaria trees are wholly 
stripped of their barks and 
branches, leaving them like 
oversized whittled orange pencils. 
Clearly this environment stretches 
their limits of survival and 
stopgaps their domination.

Brachyphyllum
Where the fresh water collects, 
dense forests of these will spring 
up and provide a home to many 
animals. The dominating 
Brachyphyllum trees are new to 
me and look quite striking with 
their hardy cool blue foliages. 
Jefferson's intense study of the 
wood has shown that while one 
species is a relative of the less 
successful Araucarias, another is 
a kind of elusive Chierolepid tree, 
wholly bygone in our home era. 
Chierolepids have thick succulent-
like foliages that served them well 
in their time, especially it seems, 
here in dry Kayentan scrub.