03-06-03 Update |
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Welcome! It’s only March 6, but spring is off and running.
This week’s flower epicenter is the eastern half of Kern County. Take your pick: Sierra flowers in the Sequoia foothills or desert flowers in the western Mojave.
Over two dozen species of wildflowers are bursting out all over the Kern River Valley. The most scenic spots are along Sierra Way from Highway 178 in Weldon (just east of Lake Isabella) to Camp Nine south of Kernville (just north of the lake), as well as the entrance road off Highway 155 to the Greenhorn Ranger District/Lake Isabella Office of the Sequoia National Forest. This road treats you to a fantastic display of baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), along with blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum), cream cups (Platystemon californicus), fiddlenecks (Amsinckia sp.), popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys sp.), red maids (Calandrinia ciliata), and sun cups (Camissonia sp.).
The western part of the Mojave Desert is the place to visit for desert blooms. Several sources tell us that the area between California City and Ridgecrest (at the eastern edge of Kern County) is ablaze with wildflowers in spots. Look especially for phacelia (Phacelia nashiana and other spp.), gilias (Gilia spp.), coreopsis (Coreopsis bigelovii), goldfields (Lasthenia californica), and chia (Salvia columbariae). Look sharp and you may spot a spectacular desert candle (Caulanthus inflatus)!
The canyons in the El Paso Mountains west of Randsburg (where Highway 395 crosses the Kern-San Bernardino County line) are also prime spots; check out Jawbone Canyon, Mesquite Canyon, or Iron Canyon. Short Canyon just outside Ridgecrest has so many species in bloom, our source tells us, that “if you can't come up with 20 species here you're not looking very hard.”
A little further west, at Red Rock Canyon State Park, flowers are rather patchy, although the indigo bushes (Psorothamnus schottii) have started to bloom, and the owl’s clover (Castilleja exserta) and California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are worth a trip for aficionados.
The eastern parts of the Mojave, including the vast area of the Mojave National Preserve, are still too chilly for a show of wildflowers. However, rangers report that the area received steady rains from October through February and that they are expecting a fantastic wildflower season.
Some Sonoran Desert wildflowers are in bloom, too, although on much shorter, drier stems. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park reports small flowers of many types in the canyons, including primroses (Oenothera spp.), desert poppy (Eschscholzia parishii), phacelia, and spectacle pod (Dithyrea californica). Shrubs continue to color the landscape, too, particularly chuparosa (Justicia californica), desert lavender (Hyptis emoryi), and ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). Make sure to stop to smell the desert lavender.
Bladderpods (Isomeris arborea) and Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) are blooming in abundance all along the roadsides of the northern part of Joshua Tree National Park. (What a contrast with the last two years, when only a handful bloomed throughout the entire desert!) The south features blooming shrubs such as chuparosa and brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), although the annuals still haven’t made a showing. They’re coming up but are still in the growth stage. Stay tuned for further updates.
Like Joshua Tree, The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve isn’t quite ready for its close-up. Rangers report a patchwork of poppies, lupines, gilia, and fiddlenecks and predict that the end of March, rather than the middle of April, will be the best time to visit.
Death Valley National Park received a nice soaking in mid-February, but it was too little, too late to ensure much color this year. The only plants in full bloom as yet are shrubs such as creosote (Larrea tridentata) and desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra). Shrubs like these are individually beautiful, but they don’t color the landscape like annuals do. However, the demonstration garden at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is in full bloom with many desert annuals, which are labeled to help you learn about the indigenous flora. Plants blooming in the garden now include notch-leaf phacelia (Phacelia crenulata), Death Valley mohavea (Mohavea breviflora), and desert gold (Geraea canescens). Desert five-spot (Eremalche rotundifolia) is also getting ready to pop.
Moving away from the desert, Tom Chester reports that the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County is close to peak bloom right now, about six weeks earlier than normal. In fact there were as many species blooming there in late February 2003 as there were in mid-April 2001. (2002 was an early year too, but a much drier one.) The best flowers now are on the trails on the Mesa de Colorado: the Vernal Pool, Los Santos and South Trans-Preserve Trails, and along Via Volcano Road. The South Los Santos Trail offers the largest number of species in bloom. Now for the flowers: ground pinks (Linanthus dianthiflorus) are at their peak on the Vernal Pool Trail, producing scattered almost solid pink patches in the first half mile of trail. Bush lupines (Lupinus excubitus var. hallii) are at their peak along Via Volcano Road a bit north of the Vernal Pool Trailhead, lining the west side of the road with lavender. Blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) have several good displays, such as on the Vernal Pool Trail just below the lip of the Mesa. Johnny-jump-ups (Viola pedunculata) are making good displays all over the Preserve. Chocolate lilies (Fritillaria biflora) have finished in most areas of the Reserve, but several hundred are still blooming on the South Trans Preserve and Vernal Pool Trails. Shooting stars (Dodecatheon clevelandii) are also finishing their display, but still look pretty good in a number of areas.
Last but not least are the areas closer to home. Ranger Gerry Reponen tells us that blooms are already emerging in the Angeles National Forest, although they are far from their peak. Look for Ceanothus, honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.), black sage (Salvia mellifera), lupine, and popcorn flower, among others.
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is having an excellent early season. The following spots all rate three of five stars: the Zuma Loop Trail, La Jolla Canyon, the Mishe Mokwa, Canyon View, and Grotto Trails at Circle X Ranch, and the Satwiwa Loop Trail at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. To learn specifics, read the “What’s Blooming” report on the Santa Monica Mountains NRA Web site.
Also in the Santa Monicas, Charmlee Wilderness Park off Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu is always one of the best spots for chaparral color. Park interpreter Kathryn James reports a slew of flowers in bloom, including chia (Salvia columbariae), prickly phlox (Leptodactylon californicum), Parry’s phacelia (Phacelia parryi), three species of lupine (Lupinus hirsutissimus, L. longifolius, and L. succulentus) milk vetch (Astragalus sp.), California bush sunflower (Encelia californica), deerweed (Lotus scoparius), and blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum). Take the Fire Ecology Trail to find mariposa lilies (Calochortus spp.).
East of here, also in the Santa Monicas, Franklin Canyon Park would also make a good weekend outing. While never great for masses of wildflowers, the park has a wonderful variety of blooms to explore. On the road into the park from the Beverly Hills side (the south entrance), look for the following: California bush sunflower (Encelia californica), wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpa), purple and white nightshade (Solanum xanti and S. douglasii), golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), greenbark ceanothus (Ceanothus spinosus), and fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (Ribes speciosum). This drive-in road is a little iffy for parking and walking, but with a 15 mph speed limit, the flowers are readily identifiable to the experienced eye. Near the nature center—one of the few irrigated areas in the park—are purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) and bladderpod. Along the Blinderman Trail you’ll find many of the same flowers, along with chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and black sage.
Off the coast on Anacapa Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park, the bizarre giant coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea) is in full bloom. (The coreopsis along Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu State Park have mostly finished for this year.) You’ll also find an abundance of blue dicks, yarrow (Achillea millefolium), island morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia), gumweed (Grindelia sp.), wishbone bush (Mirabilis californica), and Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.). On the Channel Islands you’ll see wild versions of choice large-flowered garden cultivars such ‘Anacapa Pink’ morning glory and ‘Island Pink’ yarrow.
Lastly but not leastly, we turn to Cachuma Lake Recreation Area outside Santa Barbara. The best way to see the abundant wildflowers here is to hike the Sweetwater Trail out to the Bradbury Dam overlook. Though the trail is only a couple of miles long (one way), allow several hours, says naturalist Liz Mason, “because you’ll be distracted along the path by all the sexy flowers.” Among the star attractions are buttercups (Ranunculus californicus), California peony (Paeonia californica), fiesta flower (Pholistoma auritum), hummingbird sage (Salvia spathecea), Johnny jump-ups (Viola pedunculata), shooting stars (Dodecatheon clevelandii), tufted poppy (Eschscholtzia caespitosa, growing on Monterey shale), and woodland star (Lithophragma affine). Indian warrior (Pedicularis densiflora) is in particularly fine form—it’s a low-growing, scarlet-flowered snapdragon-gone-wild. Mason also recommends the Tequepis Trail, located 1/5 mile east of the Cachuma Lake entrance across Highway 154. This trail (8 miles round trip) has beautiful view of the lake.
That’s all for this week. Make sure to check out the links by clicking on “Wildflower Site Links,” above. If you have tips of your own to report, click on “Contact Us.”
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