Natural History Wanderings

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association has a very detailed wildflower report for 2/21/15. Go to website for photos.

General Wildflower Update  Feb 21
• Hike up Henderson Canyon: You can drive about a mile up the dirt road, park and walk for as long as you desire. Over 30 wildflower species are in bloom, including California Barrel Cactus.
• Purple Phacelia and yellow Desert Dandelion are blooming at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center, the western canyons, and on roads throughout Borrego Valley.
• In Borrego Palm Canyon and Little Surprise Canyon,  shrubs such as Brittlebush, Chuparosa, and Desert Lavender are making a beautiful showing as well, especially in western canyons.
• Brown-eyed Evening Primrose and Sand Verbena can be found in the fields along DiGiorgio Road and alongside many of the roads throughout the Borrego Valley.
• A drive to the end of the pavement at the north end of DiGiorgio Road yields a variety of annuals, including spectacle-pod, brown-eyed evening primrose, sand verbena, desert dandelion, sunflowers, and even a few desert lilies coming into bloom.
• Lupine plants are widespread, and will soon be blooming in abundance along DiGiorgio Road north of Palm Canyon Drive and south of Henderson Canyon Road
• Desert Sunflowers and Dune Evening Primrose are present in the sandy fields north and south of Henderson Canyon Road between Borrego Valley Road and Pegleg Monument Yellow-flowering Creosote is in full bloom on S22  as you drive east of Pegleg Monument
• Desert lilies are blooming among a variety of annual plants along Henderson Canyon Road, just east of its intersection with Highway S-22.

Click Read more for extensive details about locations, blooms and links

February 21, 2015  reports many blooming and about-to-bloom yuccas ( Our Lord’s Candle) in the vicinity of the Smugglers Cove and Pictograph trails.

February 21, 2015  Believe it or not, the Borrego Desert floor went from having very few blooms on 5 February 2015, to being in full bloom on 20 February 2015, just 15 days later.
The number of plants in bloom (counting a max of 99 plants for each species), went from 334 plants of 29 species on 2/5/15 to 3206 plants of 79 species on 2/20/15! In fact, the number of plants recorded in bloom on 20 February 2015 is the highest we’ve ever recorded at this time of year.
This is not necessarily a good thing, since it may mean the bloom won’t last very long this year, as the plants try to reproduce before they run out of water.
View list of species in bloom at park visitor center Feb 21, 2015 – on Tom Chester’s website.

February 20, 2015 Report from Henderson Canyon
Flowers are good at the start of the Henderson Canyon, the sculptures make it more like a maze to find the right route by car. The road is rocky, so may not be OK for all cars all the way. The first part of the hike is more or less on a marked hiking trail, so easy. But you should explore some rocky areas as the flowers tend to be there and NOT in the wash.

The right hand side of the canyon seem to be the best flower wise. Brown-eyed primrose, Chylismia claviformis ssp. peirsonii from the start, but they are winding down (end of bloom) and vanish further on in the canyon. Common phacelia, Phacelia distans  are in abundant numbers. Desert chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana in large numbers, almost as frequent as the fields of Desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata. A good number of Bigelow’s monkeyflower, Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii, some already big.

When I hardly recognized Creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, so yellow, I knew the canyon would be fine. We’ve seen healthy Wishbone plant, Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa in numerous washes, but here they where in full bloom. Carla’s goal was to find Desert Bluebells, Phacelia campanularia var. campanularia and we found a handful;  this isn’t their habitat, but they are pretty. Last time we forgot to take a picture, because we’ve seen whole fields in Joshua tree. Not to forget nice fields of poppy’s. And finally Ghost flower, Mohavea confertiflora again, we encountered then in fish creek in November last year. And also spectacular Indigo bush, Psorothamnus schottii.

Feb. 20 Rainbow Canyon & Ocotillo Flat
Heading into Borrego Springs from the south, Bill made a stop in Rainbow Canyon.  He says it would be worthwhile to get someone to make weekly visits down there. The list of plants collected there over the years is quite extensive. It’s a small area that starts right beside the road (on either side of the road, to be exact) and it is no more than half a mile to the dry waterfall that halts all but the adventurous. In other words, it should be made to order for those who want to botanize by the side of the road.   On this visit, he looked across the road and found a Desert Wishbone Bush with pink flowers instead of the usual white. A week earlier, he found Arizona Fiesta Flower which the California Native Plant Society classifies as one of the rare, threatened, or endangered plants in California.

On February 19 (Thursday),  Ocotillo Flat  He says this area is usually the last area in the valley to flower. A new plant in flower he found in flower this year was Desert Star (the Belly flower). He was also happy to see the flowers on a Fish Hook cactus still looking good. The Beavertail Cactus was starting to flower here, as it is elsewhere. Weekly visits to Ocotillo Flat would also be good,