Natural History Wanderings

Death Valley National Park reports

Big news this week is that it rained .32 inches on Sunday. We got that nice soaker that we needed. It’s gonna be a fantastic year, folks!

It’s pretty great right now. The good news is the Badwater Road is looking good throughout its length, but gets better and better the further south you go. The bad news is that the rain we received Sunday has caused a temporary closure of the Badwater Road south of Badwater. Check with the Visitor Center for updates on this road closure. Look for fields of Desert Gold (Geraea canescens), Brown-eyed Evening Primrose (Camissonia claviformis), and Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa). There are lots of Phacelia, both Notchleaf (Phacelia crenulata) and Caltha-leaved (Phacelia calthifolia), Desert Five-spot Eremalche rotundifolia), Cryptantha, and Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes), too. New flowers just starting to show up this week are Gravel Ghost (Atrichoseris platyphylla) and Rock Daisies (Perityle emoryi). Soon there will be entire hillsides of rock daisies, a flower that is doing particularly well this year. If you travel into the canyons or up the alluvial fans you will see even more variety. There are a lot of Mohavea (Mohavea breviflora) coming up. Desert Star (Monoptilon spec.) and Purple Mat (Nama demissum) are other belly flowers you are likely to see if you look closely. Shredding (Camissonia boothii) and Narrow-leaved Evening Primroses (Oenothera fruticosa) can be found in the canyons, as well as Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea), Ground Cherry (Physalis hederaefolia) and Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia).

Highway 190 is starting to fill in, glowing with Desert Gold. A walk up the washes will reveal other surprises, too. East of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, look for Golden Evening Primrose and Notchleaf Phacelia.Acton Encelia, Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), and Turtleback (Psathyrotes ramosissima) can be found in the canyons of both the Funeral and Black Mountains. Bigelow Mimulus (Mimulus bigelovii) is blooming in the Funerals. Mud Canyon is looking pretty colorful. Look for Brown-Eyed Evening Primrose and Desert Gold in the lower part of the canyon, and Notchleaf Phacelia and Golden Evening Primrose in the upper reaches.

It’s getting pretty dense out there. Be mindful of where you step. Don’t crush five flowers to take the perfect picture of just one! Happy flower hunting!

See photos at Wildflower Update 2016 – Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)