Natural History Wanderings

Carrizo Plain National Monument reports on March 17, 2015 –

We are past the peak for wildflowers.  With the higher temperatures and lack of rain, things are starting to dry out and we have seen a decline in the flowers.  You can still see some flowers on the monument, however there are not fields/carpets of flowers this year.  Flowers we have seen include: fiddleneck, hillside daisy, filaree, coreopsis, poppies, goldfields, desert candle and phacelia.

DesertUSA Report for Soda Lake Road in Carrizo Plain National Monument on Saturday, 3-14-2015.

Bloom not as prolific as 2008, but still very lovely. Fiddlenecks have taken over! They cover about 80% of the flowering land area. But there were some beautiful isolated color patches, with coreopsis, acton daisies, and a beautiful patch of wild heliptrope right next to the road, about 8 miles in.

See photo at Desert Wildflower Reports for Southern California by DesertUSA.