Natural History Wanderings

Anza- Borrego Desert Natural History Association has the following two new reports

Saturday March 12 Bisnaga Wash Loop View Hike Details Here
It was very windy today but the plant life wasn’t as bad as we feared.  Hairy climbing milkweed, Funastrum hirtellum everywhere in bloom.  Plenty of San Felipe dogweed, Adenophyllum porophylloides and Odora, Porophyllum gracile close to a second bloom.  Jumping Cholla lived up to it’s name, hard to avoid them all.  On our way back one lonely Woody Crinklemat, Tiquilia canescens var. canescens.

The biggest colony of Parish’s desert-thorn, Lycium parishii we know of, more than  50.  I was taking a picture of a fishhook and noticed a plant with opposite leaves.  The plant was weird looking nothing like the 50+ we investigated in Flatcat canyon, the leaf color was off as well.  Looking better at the bleak plant, seeds, we had a positive ID, Carlowrightia arizonica.  Carla found one flower, we where looking for small flowers all the time, these flowers where huge, more than a cm.  Carla recognized it as the flower on top of her most wanted list YES. A single flower, was all we needed.  What a weird looking plant and all 10 looked more or less the same.

 

Friday March 11  Bighorn Canyon – Blue Spring – Nolina Canyon Loop View Hike Details Here
Our goal of today was to find fruit of the Bush Milkvetch, Astragalus pachypus var. pachypus So within 15 minutes we stumbled on a small plant and it was indeed a Bush Milkvetch, Astragalus pachypus var. pachypus, so that completed our trip. But on we went, to find larger fruit. This is by far a better time of year than the last visits early February. We’ve never seen Narrowleaf Suncup, Eremothera refracta and now we see it regularly. We found nice fruit and still some bloom in the fork with by far the largest Bush Milkvetch, Astragalus pachypus var. pachypus. Species in bloom: 83 yes the highest number so far.

See photos and older reports at  Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers Update