submitted by
Julia Lynam Interpretive Ranger
Cottonwood Ranger Station Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park Wildflower Update 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.
The bloom is spreading north through the park, although a cold snap caused many flowers to stay closed over the weekend. 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; coreopsis and woolly daisies abound in Wilson Canyon.
Recommended areas for spring flowers this week:
- Bajada Nature Trail, a short, easy and accessible 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 park road.
- The area of the Park south of the Cottonwood Mountains, alongside the road and in the washes of the Cottonwood Mountains.
- 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.
- Wilson Canyon, where the road rises north of the Cholla Garden.
The best way to see wildflowers is to stop the car, park safely, get out and walk around a little. The more you look, the more you see.
Click Read More to see chart for abundance and location 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’ | LSB | Little San Bernadino Mtns | various | |||
| BD | Barker Dam | 4280’ | LHV | Lost Horse Valley | 4500’ | |||
| BJ | Bajada | 2000’ | NE | North Entrance | 2810’ | |||
| BR | Black Rock | 4000’ | OVC | Oasis Visitor Center | 1960’ | |||
| CC | Cholla Cactus Garden | 2160’ | PB | Pinto Basin | 1800’ | |||
| CW | Cottonwood | 3100’ | SB | South Boundary | 1500’ | |||
| HV | Hidden Valley | 4200’ | SR | Skull Rock | 4320’ | |||
| IC | Indian Cove | 2730’ | W | West entrance area | 3520’ | |||
| JR | Jumbo Rocks | 4380’ | WC | Wilson Canyon | 3000’ | |||
|
Yellow Flowers |
||||||||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance | ||||||
| Barrel cactus | Ferocactus cylindraceus | BJ/1 | ||||||
| Bladderpod | Isomeris arborea | Parkwide/6 | ||||||
| Blazing star | Mentzelia nitens | BJ/3 | ||||||
| Brittlebush | Encelia farinosa | BJ/2, WC/3, PB/3 | ||||||
| California coreopsis | Coreopsis californica | WC/4 | ||||||
| Checker fiddleneck | Amsinckia tessellata | BJ/5, W/2, WC/3,CW/5, NE/4, Desert Queen Mine Rd/4, HV/2 | ||||||
| Chinchweed | Pectis papposa var papposa | PB/4 | ||||||
| Creosote bush | Larrea tridentata | CW/1, PB/3, WC/1 | ||||||
| Desert dandelion | Malacothrix glabrata | PB/3, BJ/3, W/1 | ||||||
| Desert lotus, Desert bird’s-foot trefoil | Lotus strigosus | PB/3, BJ/3, CW/2 | ||||||
| Desert mistletoe | Phoradendron californica | CW/4, BJ/2 | ||||||
| Desert rockpea | Lotus rigidus | 49/3, CW/4, IC, SR/2, HV/2, BD/2 | ||||||
| Desert trumpet | Eriogonum inflatum | CW/1, PB/4 | ||||||
| Green brittlebush | Encelia frutescens | PB/1 | ||||||
| Mojave ragweed | Senecio mohavensis | PB/3 | ||||||
| Palmer bead-pod, bladderpod | Lesquerella tenella | CW/1 | ||||||
| Parish’s golden poppy | Eschscholzia parishii | BJ/8, PB/3 | ||||||
| Parish’s viguiera | Viguiera parishii | CW/2 | ||||||
| Pygmy cedar | Peucephyllum schottii | PB/1 | ||||||
| Pygmy poppy | Eschscholzia minutiflora | BJ/1 | ||||||
| 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, SR/2 | ||||||
| Sweetbush | Bebbia juncea var aspera | PB/4 | ||||||
| Trixis | Trixis californica | PB/2, CW/1 | ||||||
| Twining snapdragon | Antirrhinum filipes | CW/1, LSB/1 | ||||||
| Wallace’s woolly daisy | Eriophyllum wallacei | CW/2, BJ/1, W/2, N/3, PB/3, SR/2, WC/4 | ||||||
| Whispering bells | Emmenanthe penduliflora | BJ/1, CW/1 | ||||||
| Yellow or thick-leaved ground cherry | Physalis crassifolia | CW/1, PB/2, BJ/1, LSB/1 | ||||||
| White-stem milkweed | Asclepius albicans | BJ/1 | ||||||
| Yellow tansy mustard | Descurainia pinnata | CW/3, WC/1 | ||||||
| Yellowhead, Yellowdome | Trichoptilium incisum | PB/1, CW/1, LSB/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/2, N/1 |
| Ocotillo | Fouquieria splendens | BJ/1, PB/1, CW/2 |
| Scarlet milkvetch | Astragalus coccineus | Lost Palms Trail/1, Desert Queen Mine Trail/5 |
| White Flowers | ||
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Location/Abundance |
| Anderson’s desert thorn | Lycium andersonii | CW/2 |
| Brown-eyed primrose | Camissonia claviformis | BJ/6, PB/4, WC/4, CW/3 |
| Cheesebush | Hymenoclea salsola | PB/3 |
| Comb burr | Pectocarya sp | BJ/7, WC/7, LSB/4 |
| Desert almond | Prunus fasiculata | Lost Palms Trail/2, CW/1 |
| Desert alyssum | Lepidium fremontii | BJ/1, IC/1, WC/1, CC/1 |
| Desert chicory | Rafinesquia neomexicana | PB/1, BJ/1, CW/1 |
| Desert forget-me-not | Cryptantha sp | BJ/4, CW/2, HV/2, LSB/3, SR/1 |
| Desert pincushion | Chaenactis carphoclinia var carphoclinia | PB/4, BJ/2, WC/1, CW/1 |
| Desert rock daisy | Perityle emoryi | PB/3/ BJ/1, LSB/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, BJ/1 |
| Joshua tree | Yucca brevifolia | BR/5,Park Boulevard/1 |
| Mojave yucca | Yucca schidigera | IC/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, BD/5 |
| Prostrate spurge, sand mat | Chamaesyce polycarpa | PB/3 CW/2 |
| Sacred datura, Jimson weed | Datura wrightii | PB/1 |
| Sand cress | Calyptridium monardum | BJ/1 |
| Silky dalea | Dalea molissima | CW/2 |
| Spectacle-pod | Dithyria californica | PB/1 |
| Tidy Tips | Layia glandulosa | W/2, WC/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, W/2 |
| Beavertail Cactus | Opuntia bailaris | BJ/1 |
| Bigelow’s monkey flower | Mimulus bigelovii | BJ/1, CW/2 |
| Calico or hedgehog cactus | Echinocereus englemanii | CG/1 |
| Chia | Salvia columbariae | PB/7, BJ/7, N/1, SR/2 |
| Desert calico | Loeseliastrum manthewsii | BJ/1 |
| Desert heron’s bill | Erodium texanum | BD/1 |
| Desert lavender | Hyptis emoryi | BJ/3, PB/3 |
| Desert/hairy sand verbena | Abronia villosa var villosa | PB/1 |
| Desert parsley | Lomatium mohavense | Desert Queen Mine Trail/5 |
| Dune peabush | Psorothamnus emoryi | PB/2 |
| Fagonia | Fagonia laevis | PB/3, BJ/1 |
| Filaree | Erodium cicutarium | BJ/3, CW/5, PB/6, W/2, JR/3 |
| Freckled milk vetch | Astragalus lentiginosus var fremontii | Keys Ranch/1, W/2 |
| 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 |
| Perennial rock cress | Arabis perennans | BD/1 |
| Purple mat | Nama demissum | BJ/2, LSB/1, CW/1, SR/2 |
| 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, LSB,/3 |
| Mohave lupine | Lupinus sparsifolia | CW/2
|
| 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 
My wife and I are planning to come in two weeks and we’re wondering if the wildflowers are past their bloom or whether it will still be glorious.
Thanks,
lee
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By: Lee on April 6, 2011
at 8:21 PM
Thanks for posting your comment/question on my blog. I just posted the most recent Joshua Tree report:
https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2011/04/15/joshua-tree-wildflower-report-41211/
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 15, 2011
at 7:45 PM