Submitted by
Julia Lynam Interpretive Ranger
Cottonwood Ranger Station Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park Wildflower Update 2011 #6, as of March 15, 2011
Welcome to the Joshua Tree National Park 2011 wildflower update. This report will be updated weekly during the spring blooming season. It is available from Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Centers and online at www.nps.gov/jotr.
Fields of yellow poppies, blue chia, white brown-eyed evening primrose, purple lupine, red chuparosa and other species may be found on either side of the park road between the south entrance and the Cottonwood Mountains.
Recommended trails this week:
- Bajada Nature Trail, an easy and accessible half mile loop trail just half a mile from the Park’s southern entrance on I10. The trailhead is in a large unmarked parking area on the eastern side of the road.
- Mastodon Peak Trail, a moderate 2.7 mile loop starting and finishing at the Cottonwood Spring parking area. Pick up a map in the Visitor Center.
Desert tortoises are beginning to appear among the flowers, eager to participate in the spring smorgasbord. If you encounter a tortoise, please give it space, photograph it from a respectful distance and don’t touch it unless it’s in danger on the road or under a parked car, when, using gloves or a cloth so that your hands don’t come into contact with it, you should carry it gently a few inches above the ground to a safe place.
The warmer weather is also bringing out some of our larger lizards, including chuckwallas and desert iguanas. The snakes will follow soon, so remember always to look where you’re putting your hands, your feet and all other parts of your body in the desert!
Click Read More for location and abundance of species
Abundance: Please note that sightings of any particular species may refer to many blooms, or to just a few blooms. On a scale of one to ten, the number that appears after the location key refers to an estimate of relative abundance of flowers at that location with “1” indicating a few scattered blooms and “10” indicating that the place is carpeted with the species!
There may be several common names for a species. Please refer to the scientific name if you don’t recognize the common name.
Key to Locations. See park map to find them.
| Elevation | Elevation | |||||||
| 49 | 49 Palms Oasis | 2700’ | LHV | Lost Horse Valley | 4500’ | |||
| BD | Barker Dam | 4280’ | NE | North Entrance | 2810’ | |||
| BJ | Bajada | 2000’ | OVC | Oasis Visitor Center | 1960’ | |||
| BR | Black Rock | 4000’ | PB | Pinto Basin | 1800’ | |||
| CC | Cholla Cactus Garden | 2160’ | SB | South Boundary | 1500’ | |||
| CW | Cottonwood | 3100’ | SR | Skull Rock | 4320’ | |||
| HV | Hidden Valley | 4200’ | WE | West Entrance | 3520’ | |||
| IC | Indian Cove | 2730’ | WC | Wilson Canyon | 3000’ | |||
| JR | Jumbo Rocks | 4380’ | ||||||
| Yellow Flowers | ||||||||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance | ||||||
| Bladderpod | Isomeris arborea | Parkwide/4 | ||||||
| Blazing star | Mentzelia nitens | BJ/3 | ||||||
| Brittlebush | Encelia farinosa | BJ/2, WC/3, PB/3 | ||||||
| California coreopsis (mis-identified as Bigelow’s coreopsis last week) | Coreopsis californica | WC/1 | ||||||
| Checker fiddleneck | Amsinckia tessellata | BJ/5, W/1, WC/3,CW/5 | ||||||
| Chinchweed | Pectis papposa var papposa | PB/4 | ||||||
| Creosote bush | Larrea tridentata | CW/1, PB/3 | ||||||
| Desert dandelion | Malacothrix glabrata | PB/3, BJ/1, W/1 | ||||||
| Desert lotus, Desert bird’s-foot trefoil | Lotus strigosus | PB/3, BJ/2, CW/2 | ||||||
| Desert mistletoe | Phoradendron californica | CW/4 | ||||||
| Desert rockpea | Lotus rigidus | 49/3, CW/4 | ||||||
| Desert trumpet | Eriogonum inflatum | CW/1, PB/4 | ||||||
| Green brittlebush | Encelia frutescens | PB/1 | ||||||
| Mojave ragweed | Senecio mohavensis | PB/3 | ||||||
| Parish’s golden poppy | Eschscholzia parishii | BJ/8, PB/3 | ||||||
| Parish’s viguiera | Viguiera parishii | CW/2s | ||||||
| Pygmy cedar | Peucephyllum schottii | PB/1 | ||||||
| Pygmy poppy | Eschscholzia minutiflora | BJ/1S | ||||||
| Rush milkweed, Ajamete | Asclepius subulata | PB/1 | ||||||
| Sahara mustard* | Brassica tournefortii | CW/1, PB/3 | ||||||
| Sand blazing star | Mentzelia involucrata | BJ/1 | ||||||
| Scalebud | Anisocoma acaulis | LHV/1 | ||||||
| Sweetbush | Bebbia juncea var aspera | PB/4 | ||||||
| Trixis | Trixis californica | PB/2, CW/1 | ||||||
| Wallace’s woolly daisy | Eriophyllum wallacei | CW/1, BJ/1, W/1 | ||||||
| Whispering bells | Emmenanthe penduliflora | BJ/1, CW/1 | ||||||
| Yellow or thick-leaved ground cherry | Physalis crassifolia | CW/1, PB/2, BJ/1 | ||||||
| White-stem milkweed | Asclepius albicans | BJ/1 | ||||||
| Yellow tansy mustard | Descurainia pinnata | CW/3 | ||||||
| Yellowhead, Yellowdome | Trichoptilium incisum | PB/1, CW/1, Rock House Canyon/1 | ||||||
| Red or Orange Flowers | ||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance |
| Arrowleaf (red & yellow) | Pleurocoronis pluriseta | PB/3 |
| Burroweed, White bursage | Ambrosia dumosa | PB/4 |
| Chuparosa | Justicia californica | BJ/6, CW/4 |
| Desert mallow/ Globe mallow | Sphaeralcea ambigua | CW/1 |
| Ocotillo | Fouquieria splendens | BJ/1, PB/1, CW/2 |
| Prostrate spurge | Chamaesyce polycarpa | PB/3 |
| Scarlet milkvetch | Astragalus coccineus | Lost Palms Trail/1, Desert Queen Mine Trail/1 |
| White Flowers | ||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance |
| Anderson’s desert thorn | Lycium andersonii | CW/1 |
| Brown-eyed primrose | Camissonia claviformis | BJ/6, PB/4, WC/4 |
| Cheesebush | Hymenoclea salsola | PB/3 |
| Comb burr | Pectocarya sp | BJ/7, WC/7 |
| Desert alyssum | Lepidium fremontii | BJ/1, IC/1, WC/1, CC/1 |
| Desert chicory | Rafinesquia neomexicana | PB/1, BJ/1 |
| Desert forget-me-not | Cryptantha sp | BJ/4, CW/2 |
| Desert almond | Prunus fasiculata | Lost Palms Trail/2 |
| Desert pincushion | Chaenactis carphoclinia var carphoclinia | PB/4, BJ/2 |
| Desert rock daisy | Perityle emoryi | PB/3/ BJ/1, Rock House Canyon/3 |
| Desert star | Monoptilon belloides | PB/2, BJ/1 |
| Desert star vine | Brandegea bigelovii | BJ/3, CC/1, WC/4, PB/4 |
| Desert tobacco | Nicotiana obtusifolia | PB/2, CW/1, IC/3, BJ/1, |
| Ditaxis | Ditaxis lanceolata | PB/2 |
| Narrowleaf suncup | Camissonia refracta | PB/2 |
| Joshua tree | Yucca brevifolia | BR/5,Park Boulevard/1 |
| Onyx flower/Frostmat/Sandmat | Achyronycia cooperi | PB/3 |
| Panamint cat’s eye | Cryptantha angustifolia | PB/4, BJ/2, W/2 |
| Popcorn flower | Plagiobothrys sp | IC/5 |
| Spectacle-pod | Dithyria californica | PB/1 |
| Tidy Tips | Layia glandulosa | W/1 |
| Woody bottle washer | Camissonia boothii | WC |
| Pink to Purple Flowers | ||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/s |
| Arizona lupine | Lupinus arizonicus | BJ/3, PB/3, N/1 |
| Beavertail Cactus | Opuntia bailaris | BJ/1 |
| Bigelow’s monkey flower | Mimulus bigelovii | BJ/1, CW/1 |
| Chia | Salvia columbariae | PB/7, BJ/7, N/1 |
| Desert calico | Loeseliastrum manthewsii | BJ/1 |
| Desert lavender | Hyptis emoryi | BJ/3, PB/3 |
| Desert/hairy sand verbena | Abronia villosa var villosa | PB/1 |
| Dune peabush | Psorothamnus emoryi | PB/2 |
| Fagonia | Fagonia laevis | PB/3, BJ/1 |
| Filaree | Erodium cicutarium | BJ/2, CW/2, PB/6 |
| Freckled milk vetch | Astragalus lentiginosus var fremontii | Keys Ranch/1 |
| Heliotrope Phacelia/Wild heliotrope | Phacelia distans | WC/1, CW/1, BJ/2 |
| Hairy prairie-clover | Dalea mollis | PB/2 |
| Mojave aster | Xylorhiza tortifolia | BJ/1 |
| Notch-leaf scorpion weed or phacelia | Phacelia crenulata var crenulata | PB/2, WC/3, BJ/2, CW/1 |
| Purple mat | Nama demissum | BJ/1, Rock House Canyon, 1 |
| Rock hibiscus, paleface | Hibiscus denudatus | PB/1 |
| Spanish needles | Palafoxia arida var arida | PB/3, BJ/1 |
| Turpentine Broom | Thamnosma montana | NE |
| Wright’s buckwheat | Eriogonum wrightii | Lost Palms Oasis/1
|
| Blue Flowers | ||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance |
| Canterbury bell, desert bell | Phacelia campanularia | CW/5, BJ/5, Rock House Canyon,/3 |
|
Green Flowers |
||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance |
| Croton | Croton californicus | PB/2 |
| Plantain | Plantago ovata | PB/4 |
| Stillingia | Stillingia linearifolia | CW/1 |
- invasive species of concern
Joshua Tree National Park Phone 760 367 5500 www.nps.gov/jotr
Natural History Wanderings 
How convenient. I noticed this last week from home and made certain to look for it this week as here I am (well, not exactly–more like Palm Desert). Went yesterday to JT, and enjoyed the ride east on 10, also–especially the Apricot Mallow which I didn’t see in the Park. I’ve never seen such a good , detailed report from Joshua Tree-thanks to you and Ranger Julia!
Additional attraction: The Thousand Palms Coachella Valley Nature preserve is a delight and just a short drive from Palm Desert and vicinity and Hwy 10. It houses Palm Oases -one right at the parking lot. The little visitor center has a current list of plants and birds seen recently. The immediate preserve is 76 acres with hundreds more adjacent, plus maps of trails. There are also plant and bird walks. Washingon Ave, one easy route, is closed, so one needs to take Monterey exit.
http://coachellavalleypreserve.org/
LikeLike
By: Judy keene on March 16, 2011
at 12:04 AM
Thanks for the comments and informing about the Thousand Palms Coachella Valley Nature Preserve.
LikeLike
By: Sandy Steinman on March 16, 2011
at 11:30 AM