Friday, March 3, 2006

Up until a couple of weeks ago the dry winter was cause for concern among wildflower enthusiasts. Such well-known wildflower haunts as Death Valley (less than two inches rain since last July) and Anza Borrego (only a few hundreths of an inch this winter) have received well-below average precipitation this season. As of mid-February the hills of the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve were still dull shades of brown. However, good rainfall the past two weeks has given a much needed boost to our native flora, and we now expect the season to give us a nice show, although for the most part it will be later than usual. Look for some of the more popular wildflower areas such as Antelope Valley, Gorman and Carrizo Plains to come to life by the end of March.

Deserts

Desert areas won’t have the spectacular displays seen last spring, but there are still some places in Death Valley National Park worth visiting, particularly in the south end of the park. Along Badwater Road to Jubilee Pass you’ll find lots of desert gold (Eschscholzia glyptosperma). In the Ashford Mills area are Arizona lupine (Lupinus arizonicus), notch-leaf phacelia (Phacelia crenulata), gravel ghost (Atrichoseris platyphylla), desert gold and Bigelow’s monkeflower (Mimulus bigelovii). Along Highway 190 east of Furnace Creek are some nice examples of gravel ghost and Bigelow’s monkeyflower in bloom.

In Anza Borrego Desert State Park the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), agave and brittlebush (Encelia californica) are in flower. West side canyons of the park received the most rain; look for checker fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata), desert monkeyflower, popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus), ground cherry (Physalis crassifolia), apricot mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), Arizona lupine and phacelia species, particularly in Box Canyon and Fish Creek. The downside to lack of rainfall is that the bloom period will probably be light and fleeting. The upside is that in years such as this we typically get a wonderful cacti bloom which should begin by the first of April.

The show is just starting at Joshua Tree National Park. The flowers in evidence are widely scattered, so expect to do some walking to find them. Near the Cottonwood Visitor Center between the campground and the springs are purple mat (Nama demissum), evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides), bladderpod (Isomeris arborea) and brittlebush. These same species can be found at the south boundary of the park, with some chuperosa (Justicia californica) also mixed in. In Pinto Basin the ocotillo are beginning to bloom. Experts think the recent rains should lead to some nice displays later this month – keep checking back to find out the best time to go.

The bloom hasn’t really started in the Coachella Valley yet, but at the Coachella Valley Preserve the dune evening primrose are in full flower. The preserve protects outstanding examples of the desert dune ecosystem, and can be reached by exiting Interstate 10 at Ramon Road. Proceed east to Thousand Palm Canyon Road and turn north to the preserve.

The preserve is managed by the Center For Natural Lands Management, an organization founded in 1990 and dedicated to preserving California’s natural heritage. The organization manages over 48,000 acres of land from the Mexican border to Humboldt Bay, much of it critical habitat for a wide variety of endangered flora and fauna. Among the preserves are the Coachella Valley Preserve; the Dos Palmas Preserve near Salton Sea, which protects rare desert freshwater wetlands and boast several native desert fan palm oasis; and the Lokern Preserve in Kern County, with its saltbush and valley sink communities and at least six endangered plant and animal species, including the rare Kern mallow. Access to the Lokern Preserve is by permission only.

At the Mission Creek Preserve the brittlebush and canturbury bells (Phacelia campanularia) have started blooming. To reach this preserve turn west on Mission Creek Road and proceed to the parking area at the end of the road.

The latest storm dropped some unexpected snow on Figueroa Mountain, north of Santa Barbara, so the wildflower bloom will be a bit later than usual. However, you can still see some nice displays along Figueroa Mountain Road, with blue-eyed grass (Sisyrichium bellum), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja affinis), bush poppy (Dendromecon rigida), bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons) and Douglas’ wallflowers (Erysimum capitatum) in bloom.

In the Kernville area, Sierra Way between Kernville and Weldon has lacy phacelia, encelia, coreopsis and lotus. In the Kern River Canyon are lots of fiddleneck and caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria). Further east, along Highway 119 near Buena Vista Lake are some nice fields of goldfields (Lasthenia californica).

Closer to home, wildflowers at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center on Altadena Drive north of Pasadena are just starting to bloom. Look for brittlebush, golden currant (Ribes aureum) and bush monkeyflower (Mimulas aurantiacus) among several species.

Lots of flowers are in color at the El Dorado Nature Center on Spring Street in Long Beach. Among them are bladderpod, California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), coastal buckwheat (Eriogonum cinereum), golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Channel Island bush poppy (Dendromecon harfordii), miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), bush monkeyflower, black sage (Salvia mellifera) and purple sage (Salvia leucophylla).

The bloom is not yet in full force at Channel Islands National Park, but Santa Rosa Island has some giant coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea) in bloom, along with San Miguel Island locoweed (Astragalus miguelensis), island big-pod ceanothus (Ceanothus megacarpus ssp. insularis), and island shooting stars (Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. insularis).

Northern California

The southern Sierra foothills are coming alive. The flowers will bloom south to north, so we will likely next see the San Joaquin and Stanislaus drainages in flower in a couple of weeks. A lot of flowers are in evidence in the Tule River Canyon along Highway 190. Look for popcorn flower, sticky monkeyflower, red maids (Calendrinia ciliata) and fiddleneck. In addition, the western redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) have begun to bloom.

Trimmer Springs Road as it winds around Pine Flat Reservoir has flannelbush (Fremontodendron californicum), popcorn flower, fiddleneck, sticky monkeyflower and a few golden poppies. We don’t yet have a report of upstream areas of the Kings River at the terminus of Trimmer Springs Road, but it would still be worth investigating, as this area boast some of the nicest stands of bush lupine in the entire Sierra Nevada.

Pinnacles National Monument is still several weeks away from peak form, but several early species are already in bloom, including deerweed (Lotus scoparius), hillside gooseberry (Ribes malvifolium), California fuchsia (Epilobium canum ssp. canum), bush poppy and sticky monkeyflower.

The flowers at Henry Coe State Park south of San Jose haven’t yet begun to show, but significant rainfall the past several weeks leads us to believe we could have an exceptional bloom period beginning in two to three weeks. Likewise with Mt. Diablo State Park north of Livermore in the Bay Area. Stay tuned.

Wildflower Walks and Events

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area:

Leo Carillo State Park – Adventure With a Ranger – Every Sunday at 9:00 A.M.

Pt. Mugu State Park – Adventure With a Ranger – Every Saturday at 9:00 A.M.

Cold Creek Preserve – Interpretive Walk – Saturday, March 11 – Reservations required; call 818-591-1701, Ext. 203 for details.

Rocky Oaks – Nature Walk – Sunday, March 12

Topanga State Park – Adventure Walk – Sunday, March 12

Coachella Valley:

The Living Desert sponsors wildflower walks to hotspots in the Coachella Valley each Wednesday through April 12. The cost is $35.00, and reservations are required. Call 760-346-5694, Ext. 2502 for details.

Placerita Canyon Nature Center:

Wildflower Walks – Saturday, April 9 and Saturday, May 14 – 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.

Eaton Canyon Nature Center:

Field Trips In Nature – a two hour class for children 5 and up. Cost is $5.00 per child. Call 626-398-5420 for information.

El Dorado Nature Center:

Discovery Tours – two-hour guided tour. Cost is $4.00 per person. Call 562-570-1745 for reservations.