Theodore Payne has posted a new southern and central California wildflower bloom update for May 11, 2012
Some of the highlights they report are:
- Pinnacles National Monument the different clarkias are very showy along the trails throughout the park
- Angeles National Forest along Angeles Crest Highway and Big and Little Tujunga Canyon Roads there are quite a few flowering chaparral species
- Eastern Mojave: at Hole-In-The-Wall, Mid Hills, and Kelso Dunes, annuals are nearly non-existent, but perennials are flowering and coloring the landscape.
- San Jacinto Mountains along the Palms to Pines Highway (74) you might want to hike the Cactus Spring trail. Reportedly it has a good display of colorful perennials like desert mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), various penstemons (Penstemon spp.), wild onions (Allium spp.) and cacti just starting to flower
- Santa Ana Mountains: Upper Hot Springs Canyon is excellent for botanizing this time of year
To see Theodore Payne’s full report with photos as well as old reports go to: http://www.theodorepayne.org/hotline.html
Natural History Wanderings 
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