Posted by: Sandy Steinman | April 26, 2013

Joshua Tree Wildflower Update 4/26/13

submitted by Julia Lynam
Interpretive Ranger Joshua Tree National Park

Blooming Wildflowers                            as of April 26, 2013

This is the final Blooming Flowers report for the 2013 season.

Annual wildflower blooms are scattered throughout the park in very low numbers. The most prominent are the yellow flowers of Acton’s brittle bush and white dune primroses along Park Boulevard in the north of the park. Joshua tree and Mojave yucca blooms are over, but many shrubs, including desert senna, scrub oak, honey mesquite and paper bag bush are in bloom.  Ocotillo is in full bloom on Mastodon Peak Trail and in the Pinto Basin, although road construction prohibits stopping at the Ocotillo Patch in the Pinto Basin on weekdays from 6am to 6pm.

Watch for snakes and tortoises on park roads and trails. Please do not touch or disturb animals in the park.

Click read more to see a detailed chart of plants in bloom including location and abudance

 

  Location Elevation (in feet)   Location Elevation (in feet)
49 49 Palms Oasis 2700 NE North Entrance 2810
BD Barker Dam 4280 PB Pinto Basin 1800
BJ Bajada 2000 QV Queen Valley 4000 – 4500
BR Black Rock 4000 SB South Boundary 1500
CW Cottonwood 3100 WE West Entrance 3520
IC Indian Cove 3200 WC Wilson Canyon 3000

 

On a scale of one to ten, the number that appears under the location key refers to an estimate of the relative abundance of flowers at that location, with “1” indicating a few scattered blooms and “10” indicating that the place is carpeted with that species! The location codes represent large areas, not precise locations.

 

Yellow Flowers  
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Acton’s brittle bush Encelia actonii

3

Barrel cactus Ferocactus cylindraceus

1

1

1

Bigelow’s coreopsis Coreopsis bigelovii

1

2

Bladderpod Peritoma arborea

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Brittle bush Encelia farinosa

1

2

1

1

1

Brittle spineflower Chorizanthe brevicornu

1

1

Buckwheat Eriogonum sp

2

1

Creosote bush Larrea tridentata

3

5

8

8

1

Desert dandelion Malacothrix glabrata

1

2

1

1

1

2

2

Desert gold poppy Eschscholzia parrishi/androuxii**

2

3

2

1

Desert miseltoe Phoradendron californicum

2

2

Desert rock pea Acmispon rigidus

1

1

1

1

1

Desert senna Senna armata

5

5

5

Desert trumpet Eriogonum inflatum

1

1

1

1

Golden gilia Linanthus aureus

4

Golden suncup Chylismia brevipes

1

1

Heart-leaved suncup Chylismia cardiophylla

1

Honey mesquite Prosopsis glandulosa

3

Interior goldenbush Ericameria linearifolia

3

3

3

Jones’s blazing star Mentzelia jonesii

1

2

London rocket (invasive alien) Sisymbrium irio

1

1

Narrow leaved suncup Eremothera refracta

1

Mormon tea Ephedra spp

1

1

1

1

Palo verde Parkinsonia florida

5

5

Parrish’s goldeneye Bahiopsis parishii

3

Prince’s plume Stanleya pinnata

1

Purple bush Tetracoccus hallii

1

Sahara mustard (invasive alien) Brassica tournefortii

1

2

1

Schott’s pygmy cedar Peucephyllim schotii

1

Scrub oak Quercus spp

5

Shrubby ragwort Senecio flaccidus

1

Sweetbush Bebbia juncea var aspera

1

2

2

Thick-leaved ground cherry Physalis crassifolia

1

2

1

1

Trixis Trixis californica

2

3

Wallace’s Woolly Daisy Eriophyllum wallacei

3

3

2

Western tansy mustard Descurainia pinnata

1

1

Whispering bells Emmananthe penduliflora

1

Yellow fiddleneck Amsinckia tessallata

1

1

1

1

1

Yellow monkey flower Mimulus guttatus

2

Yellowdome Trichoptilium incisum

1

** Species name of our desert gold poppy is under discussion. In the past we’ve called it E. parrishi but this is changing.

 

Red or Orange Flowers
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Burrobrush Ambrosia dumosa

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

1

2

Chuparosa Justicia californica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

1

Desert Paintbrush Castilleja angustifolia

1

Globe mallow Sphaeralcea ambigua

1

1

1

Hedgehog cactus Echinocereus engelmannii

1

1

Mojave Mound Cactus Echinocereus triglochidiatus

2

1

1

3

3

Ocotillo Fouquieria splendens

5

5

3

Odora Porophyllum gracile

1

Rattlesnake weed Chamaesyce albomarginata

1

2

Smallseed sandmat Chamaesyce polycarpa

2

3

1

Yuma sandmat Chamaesyce setiloba

2

3

3

 

 

White Flowers
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Anderson’s boxthorn Lycium andersonii

1

2

Brown eyed evening primrose Chylismia claviformis

1

1

Cheesebush Ambrosia salsola

2

2

1

Comb burr Pectocarya recurvata

1

1

Desert alyssum Lepidium fremontii

2

1

Desert boxthorn Lycium cooperi

1

Desert chicory Rafinesquia neomexicana

1

Desert Forget-me-nots Cryptantha maritima

1

1

  Cryptantha angustifolia

1

1

  Cryptantha pterocarya

1

1

1

1

  Cryptantha barbigera

1

1

  Cryptantha circumcissa

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 
  Cryptantha utahensis

1

Desert star vine Brandegea bigelovii

1

1

2

Desert tobacco Nicotiana obtusifolia

1

1

Ditaxis Ditaxis neomexicana

1

1

  Ditaxis lanceolata

1

Fiesta flower Pholistoma membraneceum

1

Fremont pincushion Chaenactis fremonti

2

1

2

Jones’s linanthus Linanthus jonesii

 
Mojave yucca Yucca schidigera

1

1

1

1

1

 1

1

1

1

1

Narrow leaved primrose Eremothera recurvata

1

Rock Daisy Perityle emoryi

1

2

Sacred datura, Jimson weed Datura wrightii

1

Sand blazing star Mentzelia involucrata

1

Sand fringepod Thysanocarpus curvipes

1

Shaggy fruit pepperweed Lepidium lasiocarpum

1

Small leaved amsonia Amsonia tomentosa

2

Tidy tips Layia glandulosa

1

2

Tufted Evening Primrose Oenothera caespitosa

2

Virgin’s bower Clematis

2

Wishbone plant Mirabilis laevis

1

1

White stemmed blazing star Mentzelia albicaulis

1

 

 

Pink to Purple Flowers
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Arizona lupine Lupinus arizonicus

2

Beavertail cactus Opuntia basilaris

3

2

1

2

2

1

Bigelow’s monkeyflower Mimulus bigelovii

1

1

California buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum

1

2

Chia Salvia columbariae

1

1

2

Desert calico Loesliatrum matthewsii

1

Desert lavender Hyptis  emoryi

1

1

1

1

Desert woolly star Eriastrum eremicum

1

Filaree (invasive alien) Erodium cicutarium

1

1

1

1

1

Gilia Gilia spp

1

1

1

Hairy prairie clover Dalea mollis

1

Hole in the sand plant Nicolletia occidentalis

1

Indigo bush Psorothamnus arborescens

1

Milk vetch Astragalus sp

1

2

1

Mojave thistle Cirsium mohavense

1

Notch leaved phacelia Phacelia crennulata

1

1

1

Paper bag bush Salazaria mexicana

2

1

1

Purple mat Nama demissum

1

1

2

1

1

Rock Live forever Dudleya saxosa

1

1

2

Specter phacelia Phacelia pedicellata

1

Turpentine broom Thamnosma montana

2

White rhatany Krameria bicolor

1

2

Windmills Allionia incarnata

1

 

 

Blue Flowers
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Canterbury bells Phacelia campanularia

1

3

1

1

 

 

Green/Brown Flowers
Common Name Scientific Name

BR

WE

IC

BD

49

QV

NE

WC

PB

CW

BJ

SB
Beetle spurge Euphorbia eriatha

1

Big galletta grass Hilaria rigidus

1

Devil’s spineflower Chorizanthe rigida

1

1

Evergreen buckthorn Rhamnus ilicifolia

2

1

Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis

1

1

1

1

Narrow leaved willow Salix exigua

2

2

1

Queen’s root Stillingia linearifolia

1

1

Teddy bear cholla  Cylindropuntia bigelovii

1

2

3

Posted in Desert, Wildflower Bloom Reports, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: , ,

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