Natural History Wanderings

DesertUSA has two new Southern California Wildflower Reports

Saddleback Butte State Park 3/11/2014

Have amazing flowers at Saddleback!!! Not sure how long they will last with the heat expected this weekend. Definitely worth the trip!!

300-mile round trip, 3/10/14

from Joshua Tree over to Lake Los Angeles, up to Mojave, back over to Barstow and home: my objective was the carpet of Coreopsis at Saddleback Butte State Park, which was as fabulous as advertised. It was not, however, the highlight of the day. The highlight was the variety of wildflowers along Hwy 18, west of Victorville (and a nice change from all the stuff I’ve been seeing in the Landers/Giant Rock area over the past month).

Wildflowers along Hwy 18 included Phacelia (distans?), fiddleneck, desert dandelion, Parry gilia, pale primrose, Mojave suncup, Mojave lupine, Pringle’s wooly daisy, owl’s clover, Golden gilia, and Mentzelia.

Wildflowers in the Lake Los Angeles area included Davy gilia, Mojave Coreopsis, Mojave pincushion, and at Saddleback Butte California tickseed (unless it was Bigelow’s … but I’m leaning toward California).

Most of the usual suspects (desert dandelion, pincushion, desert sand verbena, scalebud…) we abundant along Hwy 247 west of Landers, and again along Hwy 58 west of Kramer Jct. Goldfields covered the landscape in Apple Valley. And just south of Barstow, along Hwy 247, was a nice display of golden evening primrose.

I don’t know that I’d recommend a 300-mile drive for wildflowers, but I’ve done it before; I’ll probably do it again…

See photos at: Desert Wildflower Reports for Southern California by DesertUSA.