Natural History Wanderings

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 27, 2019

Central Texas Wildflowers 2/21/19

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center News Release

After a damp and atypically mild winter without a hard freeze — not to mention a handful of unseasonably warm days in February — Central Texans can likely expect to be greeted with some early flowers this year. That includes the beloved Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis). “Bluebonnets, from what I can tell, are going to have a good year,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, the Wildflower Center’s director of horticulture. “We’ve had a lot of moisture and it’s been warm and sunny. I’m seeing a lot of [bluebonnet] plants; as long as we don’t get bogged down in a spell of prolonged rainy weather — which can cause rot — they should do well.”

Though spring may come a bit early, DeLong-Amaya isn’t expecting a “super bloom” season: “I think the display will be pretty average for quantities — [just] starting a little early because of the warmer weather. If we get a hard freeze before April, that could set things back, but that’s not predicted right now.” An average wildflower season in Texas is still something special to behold, and an early season doesn’t necessarily mean a shorter season for bluebonnets and other wildflowers. “As long as things don’t dry out too much, the season should keep going,” says DeLong-Amaya. Though it’s difficult to predict the specifics, she speculates that the fragrant, purple-flowered Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) could have a good year: “They were pretty thin last year — and the conditions have been favorable, so we could have a good show.”

Malibu Creek State Park	Grasslands Trail to Crags Rd. to Mott Rd.	2/21/2019
Malibu Creek State Park is again open to the public. It is very clear that the Woolsey Fire came through but most of the landscape is now green, albeit with non-native grasses. The grasslands are punctuated with big oak trees that are mostly blackened or at least scorched, but most look like they are going to survive. I went looking for flowers and found very few. I saw some wild cucumber and a few patches of California poppy and a single blue dick. So, not a hike for flowers yet, but still a worthwhile hike for dramatic panoramas and the reassurance that the land is healing. I think there will be a lot of flowers next month.

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March 2019 Golden Gate Audubon Birding Field Trips

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THE 12TH ANNUAL COACHELLA VALLEY WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL IS SATURDAY, MARCH 2ND, 2019!

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