Natural History Wanderings

Death Valley National Park Facebook Page reports on 1/12/16

I know it’s early January, but the flowers didn’t get the memo. Spring has sprung! The southern end of the park is going crazy with wildflowers. Not all the players have made it to the party yet, but the ones that are here are jamming! I could go on, but pictures say it better, so check out these photos from the Shoreline Butte area.

The first Desert Five-Spots (Erimalche rotundifolia) are beginning to show their colors down south, along with Notch-Leaf Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata). Desert Gold (Geraea canescens)., Brown-eyed Evening Primrose(Chylismia claviformis), and Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa) are abundant. If you don’t have time to go south, thousands of Brown-eyed Evening Primrose are blooming on the Badwater Road. Cryptantha species are popping up all over. One of my favorite flowers, Bigelow’s Monkeyflower (Mimulus Bigelovii), is starting to show up in the canyons of the Funeral Mountains.

If you are looking for good backcountry roads, Warm Springs Canyon and Saratoga Spring are hotspots. If you’re a hiker, you might want to check out the Owlsheads or Shoreline Butte.One request if you’re walking around enjoying the prolific blossoms down south. There is a lot of life in those hills, so please, please, please be mindful of where you step. It is basically big city for rodents down there. The ground is littered with burrows. Don’t be a homewrecker!

See photos at Death Valley National Park