Natural History Wanderings

Desert Wildflower Reports – DesertUSA has the following new wildflower reports and predictions for California and Arizona for Feb. 1

California Reports

Death Valley 

Over half an inch of rain fell around Texas Spring Campground at Furnace Creek during the night of Friday January 30th. More rain fell in the southern reaches of Death Valley National Park from that storm as well. There should be the first blooms of the wildflower season in the next week or two around Ashford Mills and Jubilee Pass.

So far this hydrologic year, some parts of the park have received nearly two inches of rainfall from four to six separate rainstorms, starting in August of 2014. Mesquite Springs Campground in the northern reaches of the park received two inches of rain in December alone. This year will not be an exceptional bloom, such as in 2005, but should be far better than the average bloom over the last ten years.

 The creosote bush, one of the most common plants in the desert, is also one of the most amazing plants around. The first few blooms on this plant are just now starting to show up. Look for them all over Death Valley.

San Marco Foothills Early season blooms are out at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve (between Santa Barbara and Goleta). The western end of the Preserve has most of the flowers (entrance off of Via Gaitero Road). Solanum xanti (chaparral nightshade) is putting on a show, plus some Encelia californica (California sunflower), ranunculus californicus (California buttercup), Dichelostemma capitatum (Blue dicks) and Ribes speciosum (fuchsia-flowered gooseberry)