Moss in the Desert

I meet no one,
I hear only the echo.
At an angle the sun’s rays
enter the depths of the wood,
And shine
upon the green moss. Wang Wei 752

There is possibly no more image associated with coolness and dampness than moss and yet here is moss in the Sonora desert where summer day-time temperatures can reach 120 degrees in the shade. Most of the year, this lovely green plant is brown and dry and hiking through the desert it is easy to ignore moss which is confined to cracks in the shade and other protected locations. But if conditions are right and the rains come, the lifeless looking plants suddenly turn green and verdant.