Natural History Wanderings

Desert USA has the following wildflower report for Pacheco Pass State Park

The area received much rain in December that started clocks of all the early blooming species. Then the two big warm storms of early February dropped a full 4 inches in the park’s rain gauges according to a park worker I spoke with.

Padres shooting stars and blue dicks have suddenly come out in dense local zones. Wildflowers in this park are never everywhere but rather patchy. Even in the wettest years there are considerable areas with just green grass. But that grass makes its landscapes magical in midday light glowing intensely green. And there are good numbers of California buttercup, miner’s lettuce, and johnny-jump-ups. Also other scattered species as California poppies, purple sanicle, lomatium, mosquito bills, fiddleneck, gooseberry, and popcorn flower plus several others. Vast numbers of stunted filaree plants are yet to flower and it is still a month too early for goldfields.

The shooting stars form primarily in dense patches near the top of northern aspects of ridges and bloom, pollinate, and then fade quickly in just a matter of days. Areas of blue dicks dominate sunny south facing slopes and one will also see poppies there near sandstone outcrops. As those 2 species fade others will increase though for photographers the shooting stars are most showy.

see photo at  Desert Wildflower reports for Northern California by DesertUSA.