Natural History Wanderings

Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association posted the following wildflower bloom update today:

“22 January 2012 – Tom Chester sends this report after a drive down S-2 to Fossil Canyon. The canyon is in the Coyote Mountains, and often is a good place to find wildflowers in bloom before they appear further north. It is reached by turning east at the stop sign at Shell Canyon Road on the north edge of Ocotillo.

Blair Valley – Good germination by the parking area next to S2, but it is essentially all non-native Filaree or Storksbill, accompanied by a smaller number of native Pectocarya and Popcorn Flower. The Filaree and Pectocarya were beginning to bloom.

Mason Valley. Good germination of a number of native annuals, as well as non-native Filaree or Storksbill and Sahara Mustard, both of which were blooming. Most of the Sahara Mustard was very small pathetic-looking plants with just a few flowers, which is all they will have total unless they get more rain, and maybe even if they do.The Popcorn Flower was beginning to bloom there as well.

Mason Valley to Carrizo Badlands Overlook. There seemed to be fairly uniform decent germination whenever we looked at the roadside and beyond, but we didn’t stop, so don’t know what it was composed of. At the Carrizo Badlands Overlook, no germination except under some shrubs, and in a little drainage. the germination there was pretty sparse, but way better the none, of mostly native plants: Phacelia distans, Erodium texanum, and even Desert Five-spot.

Fossil Canyon. EXCELLENT germination there, entirely of NATIVE annuals!!!! We saw no Sahara Mustard, Storksbill, or other non-native annuals. What a pristine area plant-wise!

Non-plant wise it is not quite so pristine, due to shotgun shells; shootingnoises; car and motorcycle tracks; broken glass; old cans; etc., in a smallnumber of areas.

If we get more rain, this canyon will look good. we saw:

• Zillions of baby Pygmy Gold Poppy and Parish’s Gold Poppy
• Hillsides colored green with zillions of baby White Pincusion (Chaenactis carphoclinia)
• Zillions of baby plants, probably Phacelia minutiflora
• Lots of Blazing Star (Mentzelia involucrata or Mentzelia hirsutissima), and Emory’s Rock-Daisy
• A good number of Desert Chicory
• A Desert Mistletoe in flower

There were plenty of other baby annual species as well. These annuals all looked like they had germinated fairly recently, perhaps from the December rain. Some had only just grown their first true leaves. Furthermore, the shrubs all looked pretty good. Brittlebush had lots of its big green rainfall leaves, and the Caesalpinia virgata was just leafing out.

If they don’t get any more rain, the annuals will all flower pathetically. But if we get rain in the next month, it will be a good year there.”

You can see all of their wildflower reports at: http://www.california-desert.org/pages/03flora/reports/current.htm