Natural History Wanderings

Death Valley National Park has the following new wildflower update for March 25, 2014.

With the ongoing drought in California, wildflowers sightings are a bit more fragmented in Death Valley this spring. Wet winter storms are necessary for a good bloom in the desert, but this year has been very dry. The rain that fell late February should give a boost to flowers that have already sprouted, but it is too late for many new seeds to sprout and come into full bloom before the heat and dry winds cause the delicate annuals to wither.

Spotty rainstorms last autumn did cause some annuals to sprout in the southern extreme of Death Valley. Look for areas of roadside flowers around Jubilee Pass on the southern Badwater Road. Along the Harry Wade Road, Ibex Dunes and Saratoga Springs, there are slopes and washes with scattered patches of flowers. Although there is good variety, the plants in these locations are blooming while still small, a sign they are bolting to a quick finish to set seed before drying up. The recent rain should help them keep going. In the Emigrant Canyon / Towne Pass area watch for wildflowers that tend to be much larger and more robust than those down south, but they are appearing as individuals instead of patches.

One of our rangers drove CA-190 above the Emigrant Campground, calling it “a pleasure to the senses…make sure to keep the windows down, and breathe deeply.” Another ranger drove through Greenwater Valley calling it “ablaze with blooms.” We’re also getting reports of flowers on Hole-in-the-Wall Road and Dante’s View Road.

See photos and follow reports at:  Wildflower Update 2014 – Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service).