Barnacles are fascinating structures, attaching to a substrate and growing via generation of a natural cement.
This reticulated structure of a cactus skeleton was found near Death Valley.
The laminar structure of the abalone shell is one of nature’s toughest materials.
Similar in a way to the barnacles, limpets attach to rocks with a strong foot.
Originally native to tropical waters, Megabalanus tintinnabulum has spread by attaching to ships.
My flat little Gymnocalycium triacanthum has been attempting to bloom for several weeks.
Finding a complete sea urchin shell feels like a gift: bleached pure white, purple spines long gone, the five fold symmetry still legible in the rhythm of large and small bumps radiating out from a central axis.
This small cactus from Mexico (Astrophytum myriostigma) also has a five-fold central symmetry.
This whorled olive shell has a faint lilac blush on its barrel but otherwise is wave-worn white. Native Californians used these types of shells as money.