Natural History Wanderings

Arizona Wildflower reports at DesertUSA

Lost Dutchman State Park Reports Mar 20 2015: – It’s still hot out there, but the rain may jumpstart even more Chuparosa & Brittlebush to carpet the base of the mountain. When you go, please make sure to bring water, boots, and a camera!

Bartlett Lake on the afternoon of March 17, 2015 to see what was blooming. Up toward and beyond Rattlesnake Cove toward the lake and campgrounds there were good swatches of color. The brittlebush and chuparosa were the strongest, with some golden poppies, lupine and lovely, pale tangerine desert mallows mixed in.

Peridot Mesa on Tuesday, March 18, 2015. There are still thousands of poppies on slopes and a lot of clusters on the Mesa. We also saw a lot of Blue Lupine. Highway 79 south of Florence,March 17.Desert marigolds and lupine lined the highway for miles. As you get nearer to Florence, there is also desert mallow, usually in pastel colors. US 60 between Florence Junction and Gonzales Pass. Most of the flowers were brittlebush, with some poppies and Perry’s penstemon. The final photo is from Lost Dutchman State Park in the Superstitions. There is abundant brittlebush, although I have seen the slopes considerably more yellow. One valley is lined with chuparosa. It’s about a 600′ climb in elevation to the highest point in the trails, and it’s warm, so take plenty of water. I took three pint bottles and drank two of them.

See photos for above at Desert Wildflower reports for Phoenix and Northern Arizona Area – DesertUSA.

Picacho Peak State Park reports: Poppies have started to wane, but the Eastern face of the peak is still covered in beautiful yellow daisies from Brittlebush, with a variety of other flowers throughout the Park. See photos at Desert Wildflowers Tucson – Southern AZ – DesertUSA