Natural History Wanderings

Two more Anza-Borrego wildflower updates. One from Anza-Borrego State Park and the other from Borregohiking.com.

Borregohiking.com. has new photos from  Henderson Canyon Road and Thimble Trail.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park reports on February 22, 2015

Unseasonably warm temperatures earlier in the month brought annual wildflowers into bloom fairly quickly.

Desert sunflower and dune primrose are blooming along Henderson Canyon Road, though plants are small and less showy than in better years. It should be possible to find something blooming somewhere over the next two weeks, though a dramatic landscape blanketed with colorful “drive-by” blossoms is unlikely without another significant rainfall.

Annual flowers including purple phacelia and yellow desert dandelion are blooming at the Visitor Center and in Borrego Palm Canyon; shrubs such as brittlebush, chuparosa, and desert lavender are making a beautiful showing as well, especially in western canyons.

Creamy brown-eyed evening primrose and pink sand verbena can be found in the fields along DiGiorgio Road and alongside many of the roads throughout the Borrego Valley.

Caterpillars of the white-lined sphinx moth have devoured most of the blossoms at the north end of DiGiorgio Road.

Desert lilies are blooming among a variety of annual plants along Henderson Canyon Road, just east of its intersection with Highway S-2.

Daytime temperatures are warm, but mornings are delightful for hiking, exploring, and wildflower-seeking!