Natural History Wanderings

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association just posted a number of Wildflower Updates for the last few days.

April 1, 2013 We hiked some washes west of the Angelina Spring. There are some dry waterfalls you have to climb or bypass, but it is not difficult. Many wildflowers here: Bigelow's monkey-flower, Wallace's woolly daisy, wild heliotrope, fiddleneck, pincushion, whisperingbell, chia, wishbone plant, jewel-flower, cryptantha, bluebell and blue dicks. Lots of wild cucumber, and very large pincushions, > 1 foot. Some paintbrush and golden-bush.

The golden yarrow is starting to bloom. We also found some California poppy's.

But the best part is on the top, just before the Pacific Crest Trail. There is a large flat sandy area, with seas of flowers. Fields of Bigelow's monkey-flower, white tidy-tips, Wallace's woolly daisy, desert dandelions, pincushions, gold-fields.

March 31, 2013 Today we went to the Mine Wash area. Lots of cactus are blooming here now. Higher up in the wash we saw lots of black-brush blooming and the white sage is now blooming.

March 30, 2013 There is lots of good cactus in flower along the Mortero Canyon Road off S-2 in the Mortero Wash area in the southern desert. From our car, as we drove down the road, we counted three dozen claret-colored flowers on a single bunch of Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii). There was Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris), of course, some with red flowers, some pink. The red-flowered Wolf's Cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii), seen only in the southern desert, was well represented. A mile's walk up the valley northwest of the road brought us to a small Yaqui Mammillaria (Mammillaria tetrancistra) with an amazing seven fruits. Unfortunately, we missed the flowers. Gander's Cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi) was in flower everywhere, but the best flowers of all were seen on the plants seen on a short walk up the North Mortero Wash Road on the other side of S-2.

March 30, 2013 Yesterday we went to Pinyon Spring. Because the road further on is rocky, we parked close before Angelina Spring. At Angelina Spring we saw that the wild cucumber is now getting “cucumbers”.

More wildflowers than the last time we were here.

In the Pinyon Spring wash fields of Wallace's woolly daisy and tiny goldfields.

See all oft their reports and photos at: Anza-Borrego Wildflowers Spring – Fall 2013