Plant Species of the Borrego Desert: 2008-2009 Blooms
Picture of a field of hairy sand verbena, Abronia villosa; and both the white and yellow versions of brown-eyed primrose, Camissonia claviformis ssp. peirsonii; taken in Coachwhip Canyon on 24 February 2009 at dusk; see also larger version.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Rainfall This Season
Annual Germination, Growth and Blooms
General Requirements for Annual Germination
Summary of Annual Germination, Growth and Blooms in 2008-2009
Detailed Germination, Growth and Bloom Reports From Each Hike
Pictures From Each Hike
How Long Will An Annual Bloom Last
General Factors
Predictions for This Year
Species in Bloom On Each Trip
Number of Species and Plants in Bloom On Each Trip
List of Species in Bloom On Each Trip
Links to Other Webpages on Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Blooms
Introduction
The Borrego Desert is the northern part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park below an elevation of 3000 feet, named for the Borrego Valley and the town of Borrego Springs (map and expanded definition).
This page gives some information about the early progress of the 2008-2009 bloom, concentrating on the annuals that are responsible for the widespread showy blooms that appear in some years on the desert floor. The date of the last update to this page is given at the bottom of this page.
In addition to specific information about current conditions, this page also gives some general information on what is needed to germinate those annuals, and what is needed to sustain the annual bloom.
The information here is by no means a definitive list to what is blooming in the Borrego Desert; it only records the species I've seen in bloom on my hikes that occur roughly every fourth day. Because the locations change, the numbers of species in bloom, and the number of plants in bloom, cannot usually be directly compared from trip to trip. However, the information here will give the reader an idea of what the bloom is doing in the Borrego Desert, especially for whether a widespread annual bloom is shaping up or not.
Note that there is often quite a difference in the annual bloom between the moister canyons west of Borrego Springs and the drier areas around the Badlands. Similarly, even within those canyons on the west, there can be large differences between the north-facing and south-facing slopes, and between canyons with permanent water, like Borrego Palm Canyon, and drier canyons. In the drier areas to the east, there can be large differences between the edges of washes and the middle of washes, and between shady canyons and open areas.
The locations for each hike are in the report on annual germination below; more information is given in Botanical Trail Reports in Chronological Order, which usually includes more information about the bloom on each trip.
Rainfall This Season
Rainfall is the most important determinant of blooms. Rainfall is usually highest on the mountain slopes, especially on the west edge of the Borrego Desert, and falls off dramatically with lower elevation to the east. This occurs whenever our rainfall is mostly orographic. However, when rainfall is from convection, the deserts can at times get more rainfall than the coast. (See Precipitation types.)
In addition to desert stations, I've also given the rainfall from my house in Fallbrook, on the coastal side at 680 feet elevation, to show the large difference in rainfall between the wet side of the mountains and the dry side.
The following table gives the storm totals, in inches, as of the last day of each storm. The storm totals were taken from the Weather Service Rainfall Storm Summary, except for Fallbrook and the Borrego Badlands. Occasionally other stations are missing in that report; if so, totals are taken from the Rainfall Summary Map.
There is no weather station in the Borrego Badlands; the rainfall estimates are just guesses made from how wet the area appears on trips there. If a station didn't appear in the summary, I assumed the rainfall total was zero. Although this assumption is probably usually correct, it is not necessarily always valid since missing data plague all rain reports.
| Date | Fallbrook | San Felipe | Agua Caliente | Borrego Palm Canyon | Borrego Springs | Borrego Badlands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2008 | 0.00 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 4 November 2008 | 0.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 27 November 2008 | 1.81 | 0.51 | 0.52 | 0.31 | 0.35 | ~0.30 |
| 15 December 2008 | 2.40 | 0.98 | 0.15 | 0.75 | 0.47 | ~0.4? |
| 17 December 2008 | 1.61 | 0.87 | 2.13 | 1.14 | 1.54 | ~1.5? |
| 22 December 2008 | 0.51 | 0.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ? |
| 25 December 2008 | 0.51 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | ? |
| 3 January 2009 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 23 January 2009 | 0.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 26 January 2009 | 0.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 7 February 2009 | 1.65 | 0.91 | 0.08 | 0.24 | 0.31 | 0.31? |
| 9 February 2009 | 0.63 | 0.90 | ? | 0.37 | 0.72 | ? |
| 16 February 2009 | 0.55 | ? | ? | 0.24 | 0.58 | ? |
| Total Since 1 October | 10.23 | ~5.3? | 3.5? | 3.05 | 3.99 | ~3.0? |
Annual Germination, Growth and Blooms
General Requirements for Annual Germination
The timing of rainfall is extremely important for the annual bloom. Rainfall received in the summer and early fall will not germinate the annuals that bloom in February and March. Rainfall received after January will either not germinate those annuals, or will germinate them too late for them to produce a robust bloom in most years. Thus rain must fall in October, November, and/or December in order to germinate the annuals that produce the showy mass displays.
The amount in a single storm is also important. Native annuals require about an inch of rainfall, received over no longer than a period of something like several days, in order to germinate. Our native annuals have learned the hard way that any less rainfall doesn't guarantee enough moisture in the soil for them to produce seeds.
Unfortunately, non-native annuals can germinate on less rainfall, and can sometimes get a head start over our native annuals if we get a first rainfall much less than an inch.
See Predicting Desert Wildflower Blooms - The science behind the spectacle from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for information relating to Arizona desert blooms.
Summary of Annual Germination, Growth and Blooms in 2008-2009
Peak bloom began on the desert floor below 1000 feet elevation around 24 February 2009. As of then, all the major flower spots in Borrego Springs had acres of flowers. Many of those locations, such as this one in Coachwhip Canyon on 24 February 2009, have their peak number of flowers now. I observed over 2000 plants of 47 species in bloom in a single day's hike there.
A total of 49 annual species have been observed in bloom as of 24 February 2009 (see detailed list); 111 total species have been observed in bloom so far this season. The canyons on the west side of Borrego Springs, and higher elevations, have not yet reached peak bloom.
Some shrub species have been in peak bloom for some time. Chuparosa, Justicia californica, has been in peak bloom since late December 2008. Bladderpod, Isomeris arborea, has been in peak bloom in Rockhouse Canyon below Hidden Spring since 15 January 2009. Desert-lavender, Hyptis emoryi, has been in peak bloom there since 28 January 2009. Desert apricot, Prunus fremontii, was in peak bloom in Culp Valley and Rockhouse Canyon on 1 February 2009. Wishbone plant, Mirabilis bigelovii, began blooming on 11 February 2009, and is now in full bloom.
A small number of annual species are almost totally absent this year. I've seen only three live plants TOTAL of chia, Salvia columbariae, compared to seeing literally thousands of dead plants from previous years. This species just didn't germinate in most areas this year.
Many annuals are smaller than normal due to no rainfall for 52 days after they germinated on 15-17 December 2008. Fortunately, the inch of rain on 7-9 February 2009, and the half inch of rain on 16 February 2009, helped many plants produce more blooms, and it has turned out to be a decent bloom season after all. In fact, the small size of most of the non-native Asian mustard, Brassica tournefortii, plants is allowing the smaller native plants to produce a better show!
Detailed Germination, Growth and Bloom Reports From Each Hike
Detailed reports from the last month are given here; for earlier reports, see Reports from 28 November 2008 to 28 January 2009.
These reports are just summaries of these conditions from each hike. Many of these hikes have much more complete botanical reports online with additional information; see Plant Trail Reports, San Diego County, 2009.
1/24/09: Butler Canyon. The annuals are popping! We came across the first blooms of common phacelia, Phacelia distans; small-flowered poppy, Eschscholzia minutiflora; and even the first FRUIT of curvenut combseed, Pectocarya recurvata.
There were buds and/or the beginning flower stalks on a number of annual species, as well as buds on perennials and shrubs like cheesebush, Hymenoclea salsola; and rambling milkweed, Sarcostemma hirtellum. Many annual species will have their first blooms within weeks.
Not coincidentally, insects were out as well. Butterflies were mobbing a desert-thorn, Lycium brevipes, in bloom at Clark Lake.
Michael Charters shows some of the annual bloom, which came from small plants with only a few blooms per plant.
1/28/09: Rockhouse Canyon. Bladderpod, Isomeris arborea continues to be in full bloom, now joined by desert-lavender, Hyptis emoryi. The bloom of punctate rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus paniculatus is ending. Buds of wishbone plant, Mirabilis bigelovii, look like they will pop in a week or two.
Although the first bloom of redstem filaree, Erodium cicutarium, was observed, none of the other annuals are as advanced as those in Butler Canyon four days ago.
2/1/09: Rockhouse Canyon. The bloom is similar to that on 1/28/09, with the following three additional annuals now in bloom. There is only a single very small plant of everlasting nest-straw, Stylocline gnaphaloides, that germinated here this year, and it is now in bloom. The first plants of many of the following two non-native annuals, Mediterranean schismus, Schismus barbatus; and Asian mustard, Brassica tournefortii, have begun to bloom here.
One plant of Parish's viguiera, Viguiera parishii, is beginning its bloom. Buds of cheesebush, Hymenoclea salsola, are growing larger and may begin blooming in the next week or two. Small buds have appeared on one plant of beavertail cactus, Opuntia basilaris, and on one plant of brittlebush, Encelia farinosa.
Chuparosa, Justicia californica, is in full bloom in Clark Valley along the Rockhouse Canyon Road.
One plant of brittlebush, Encelia farinosa, is in full bloom along S22 near the bottom of the Montezuma grade, but most plants there are not yet showing buds.
2/5/09: Rockhouse Canyon. The annuals have popped into full bloom at several locations along Rockhouse Canyon Road west of Clark Lake! We spent about an hour photographing about ten annual species that had popped into bloom in the last four days. All the usual suspects were there, including spectacle-pod, Dithyrea californica (one even had its first fruit!); narrow-leaved cryptantha, Cryptantha angustifolia; brown-eyed primrose, Camissonia claviformis ssp. peirsonii; Spanish needle, Palafoxia arida; desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata, and hairy sand verbena, Abronia villosa. We found some perennial / subshrub plants of California fagonia, Fagonia laevis, in full bloom there as well. Chuparosa, Justicia californica, continues in full bloom along the Road.
On our car stops along Rockhouse Canyon Road, and hike up Rockhouse Canyon to upper Rockhouse Canyon, we saw over 500 individual specimens of 42 species in bloom. In Rockhouse Canyon, Bladderpod, Isomeris arborea; and desert-lavender, Hyptis emoryi; continue to be in full bloom. In the upper canyon, desert apricot, Prunus fremontii, is still in full bloom, but is near its end.
However, the annuals have not yet begun blooming in most locations here.
2/11/09: Coyote Canyon Road, Box Canyon. There are carpets of flowers now along Coyote Canyon Road, most of them from spectacle-pod, Dithyrea californica, which is in full bloom seemingly everywhere along the Road. Some plants have their first beautiful fruit that looks like spectacles. Dune primrose, Oenothera deltoides; hairy sand-verbena, Abronia villosa var. villosa; and brown-eyed primrose, Camissonia claviformis ssp. peirsonii; have all begun blooming in the area at the end of Di Giorgio Road.
Driving along Coyote Canyon Road reveals new species in bloom regularly, including the first blooms of desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata, in a number of places. There is no water at First Crossing, so many passenger cars, driven carefully, can make it to Second Crossing. We were pleased to find a nice patch of longbeak streptanthella, Streptanthella longirostris, between First and Second Crossing.
Most annuals in Box Canyon have not yet begun blooming.
On our car stops along Coyote Canyon Road, and hike up Box Canyon, we saw over 1100 individual specimens of 53 species in bloom!
2/17/09: Rockhouse Canyon Road, Henderson Canyon Road, Coyote Canyon Road, Box Canyon. The carpets of flowers along Coyote Canyon Road are even better, with desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata; Fremont pincushion, Chaenactis fremontii; and desert chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana, beginning to join the show.
Hairy sand-verbena, Abronia villosa var. villosa, is now producing its usual carpets of flowers along S22. The first hairy desert-sunflower, Geraea canescens, blooms have appeared along Henderson Canyon Road.
Buds of desert lily, Hesperocallis undulata, will pop in about a week at S22 and Rockhouse Canyon Road.
On our car stops along Henderson Canyon and Coyote Canyon Roads, and hike up Box Canyon, we saw over 1600 individual specimens of 61 species in bloom!
Most annuals in Box Canyon are still the same, and have not yet begun blooming.
2/20/09: S22, Borrego Dunes Area of Borrego Badlands. This area of the Borrego Badlands probably has the most total blooms of anyplace, but unfortunately 99.9% of the blooms are from the non-native Asian mustard, Brassica tournefortii. However, there are 33 native species in bloom here, including the first blooms of the desert lily, Hesperocallis undulata. There are hundreds of plants here total, and we observed about 50 of them showing off their first blooms.
There are large numbers of hairy sand-verbena, Abronia villosa var. villosa; and dune primrose, Oenothera deltoides, in bloom in a number of locations. We found the first blooms of about 20 plants of hairy desert-sunflower, Geraea canescens, ten stunning plants of Borrego milk-vetch, Astragalus lentiginosus var. borreganus; and five plants of gray desert sunflower, Helianthus niveus ssp. canescens.
2/24/09: Coachwhip Canyon. Peak bloom has begun! We found one lovely field of flowers that can't have any more flowers blooming in the future than are blooming right now.
The roadside of S22 is covered with annuals in flower; we found 31 species in bloom within a 100 foot stretch along the road, and another 16 species in bloom along our hike in Coachwhip Canyon, for a total of 47 species in bloom here. We estimated we saw 1786 individual plants in bloom. Since we capped the count for each species at 99 plants, we easily saw over 2000 individual plants in bloom.
Pictures From Each Hike
Most of my pictures were taken for scientific purposes, and not specifically to show anything about the bloom. However, they may be of interest to people showing some aspects of what the bloom was like on a given date. My pictures are not even on standard webpages; I link to a directory and you have to click on the link for each picture to see it. Scientific names are used almost exclusively for the picture names.
The context for most of these pictures is given in the botanical reports from each hike.
In contrast, on those hikes where Michael Charters came along, he documented most of the plants in bloom, and placed them on standard webpages with common and scientific names. I recommend you click on his pages first.
How Long Will An Annual Bloom Last
General Factors
Past Rainfall, Future Rainfall, and Heat are the main factors determining how long an annual bloom will last on the desert floor at about 1000 feet elevation:
- Past rainfall affects how big the plant is, and how many resources it has to keep blooming, especially the root system of the plant and how much moisture is available in the ground. Given enough resources, annuals can withstand conditions that would otherwise abruptly end the bloom.
- Future rainfall can allow a bloom to keep going even if resources are meager. Even annuals near death can produce significant new growth if they receive rainfall.
- Heat is the main factor that terminates a bloom. I've seen a very robust February bloom abruptly end in just two weeks in March when 90° heat begins and is sustained for a few weeks. On the other hand, the bloom can go into April in years with cooler March temperatures.
Predictions for This Year
So far, we have not had any heat that would end the bloom prematurely. But all it takes is a week or two of temperatures in the 80s to end the bloom at elevations below 1000 feet. Last year, heat arrived in mid-March, and quickly ended the bloom, with most annuals almost completely finished blooming by 1 April.
Species in Bloom On Each Trip
Number of Species and Plants in Bloom On Each Trip
Four plots are given below:
- The first two plots show what was observed on each trip, the total number of species in bloom and the total number of plants in bloom. The total number of plants in bloom for each individual species is capped at a maximum of 99 plants.
- The next two plots give the cumulative total numbers from all trips so far this season, of all species seen in bloom and of all annual species that germinated this year and have begun blooming. Thus this does not count any annual species that survived from last year and is now blooming. These cumulative total numbers include the number of species on a given trip as well as those from all trips previous to that trip.
The plots and the table here must be interpreted cautiously, for at least two reasons:
- First, long hikes will find more plants in bloom than short hikes. For example, the hikes of 12/29, 1/2 and 1/9 were all in Henderson Canyon, but were 4, 7 and 8 miles long, respectively. The increase in the number of plants was due almost entirely to the length covered.
- Second, some areas have a higher species diversity than others, and so will have more species blooming at a given time. For example, on 2/20/09, I botanized the Borrego Badlands, which has significantly fewer species than the Coyote Creek area I had botanized for the previous two trips. As a result, the total number of species observed in bloom skidded from 61 to 35, even though the bloom overall in the Borrego Desert is still getting better. Note that the cumulative number of species, and annuals, seen to be in bloom from all trips this year continued to increase, since the Badlands have some species not found elsewhere.
I've added yellow diamonds to some points in the plots to show when I've switched areas, which follow the color-coding in the table headers below. Hikes in the same general area on successive trips are color-coded in the table headers below. If the color changes between columns, it is a tip-off that different environments, and hence plant species, might have been sampled. There is no significance to the color used; only the change in color is significant. When a color change occurs, there is no implication that it was back to the environment sampled when that color occurred previously.
I've added two bars in each plot, that represent the time of peak bloom estimated by Park Rangers. Two bars were needed since I wasn't sure of the meaning of the word between in the Park Rangers statement that they anticipate the peak blooming season to hit between the 3rd week of February and the 2nd week of March, depending on the weather. The lower pink bar extends from the beginning of the third week of February (2/15) and the end of the second week of March (3/14). The upper green bar extends from the end of the third week of February (2/22) to the beginning of the second week of March (3/7).
The following table gives the numbers used for the above plots, for the last two months. For earlier numbers, see Numbers from 28 November 2008 to 28 January 2009. The individual observations used to obtain these numbers are in the List of Species in Bloom On Each Trip.
| Number of | 1/2 | 1/7 | 1/12 | 1/15 | 1/19 | 1/24 | 1/28 | 2/1 | 2/5 | 2/11 | 2/17 | 2/20 | 2/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | 7 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 26 | 41 | 54 | 61 | 35 | 47 |
| Plants | 88 | 94 | 99 | 328 | 74 | 123 | 330 | 337 | 487 | 1129 | 1593 | 977 | 1786 |
List of Species in Bloom On Each Trip
The table gives the number of plants observed to be in bloom for each species on each hike, with a maximum value of 99 plants for each species. This maximum value prevents one species from dominating the total plants in bloom, and makes it much easier on me to keep track of the bloom.
Because the hike locations vary, some species will not be present on every hike, so the lack of an entry for a given hike says nothing about whether that species is blooming elsewhere.
The Checklist is sorted first by category, with dicots before monocots, and then by family and scientific name. The Family and Scientific Name are from the Jepson Manual. An asterisk before the Common Name indicates a non-native taxon.
See Plant Family Abbreviations to obtain the full family name from the abbreviations used in the table below.
This table gives the number of plants in bloom only since 1 January 2009. Some species thus have no number of plants in bloom listed in this table since they were observed in bloom only on trips prior to that date. For those earlier trips, see list of species seen in bloom from 28 November 2008 through 28 January 2009.
| # | FAM | Scientific Name | Common Name | 1/2 | 1/7 | 1/12 | 1/15 | 1/19 | 1/24 | 1/28 | 2/1 | 2/5 | 2/11 | 2/17 | 2/20 | 2/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACA | Justicia californica | chuparosa | 50 | 50 | 50 | 2 | 30 | 50 | 79 | 80 | 99 | 99 | |||
| 2 | ASC | Asclepias albicans | white-stemmed milkweed | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | ASC | Asclepias subulata | rush milkweed | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 4 | ASC | Sarcostemma hirtellum | rambling milkweed | 1 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 5 | AST | Ambrosia dumosa | burroweed | |||||||||||||
| 6 | AST | Baccharis salicifolia | mule fat | 20 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 7 | AST | Bebbia juncea var. aspera | sweetbush | 1 | 50 | 7 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 3 | ||||
| 8 | AST | Chaenactis fremontii | Fremont pincushion | 1 | 10 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 9 | AST | Chrysothamnus paniculatus | punctate rabbitbrush | 99 | 30 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | AST | Encelia farinosa | brittlebush | 2 | 30 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
| 11 | AST | Encelia frutescens | button encelia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 12 | AST | Ericameria brachylepis | boundary goldenbush | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 13 | AST | Geraea canescens | hairy desert-sunflower | 10 | 20 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 14 | AST | Gnaphalium luteo-album | *common cudweed | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 15 | AST | Gutierrezia sarothrae | matchweed | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 16 | AST | Helianthus niveus ssp. canescens | gray desert sunflower | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 17 | AST | Hymenoclea salsola var. salsola | cheesebush | 1 | 50 | 50 | 10 | 99 | ||||||||
| 18 | AST | Isocoma acradenia var. acradenia | alkali goldenbush | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 19 | AST | Lepidospartum squamatum | scale-broom | 20 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 20 | AST | Malacothrix glabrata | desert dandelion | 1 | 25 | 50 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||
| 21 | AST | Monoptilon bellioides | desert star | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 22 | AST | Palafoxia arida var. arida | desert needle | 2 | 2 | 5 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 99 | ||||||
| 23 | AST | Peucephyllum schottii | pygmy-cedar | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 24 | AST | Pleurocoronis pluriseta | arrow-leaf | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| 25 | AST | Rafinesquia neomexicana | desert chicory | 2 | 30 | 1 | 20 | |||||||||
| 26 | AST | Stephanomeria pauciflora var. pauciflora | wire-lettuce | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| 27 | AST | Stylocline gnaphaloides | everlasting nest-straw | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 28 | AST | Trichoptilium incisum | yellow-head | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 29 | AST | Trixis californica var. californica | California trixis | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 30 | AST | Viguiera parishii | Parish's viguiera | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| 31 | AST | Xylorhiza orcuttii | Orcutt's woody-aster | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 32 | BOR | Cryptantha angustifolia | narrow-leaved cryptantha | 5 | 40 | 99 | 99 | 99 | ||||||||
| 33 | BOR | Cryptantha barbigera | bearded cryptantha | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||||||||
| 34 | BOR | Cryptantha costata | ribbed cryptantha | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 35 | BOR | Cryptantha maritima | Guadalupe cryptantha | 99 | ||||||||||||
| 36 | BOR | Cryptantha micrantha | purple-root cryptantha | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 37 | BOR | Cryptantha pterocarya | wing-nut cryptantha | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 38 | BOR | Pectocarya heterocarpa | chuckwalla pectocarya | 2 | 99 | 50 | ||||||||||
| 39 | BOR | Pectocarya platycarpa | broad-fruited combseed | 99 | 1 | 50 | ||||||||||
| 40 | BOR | Pectocarya recurvata | curvenut combseed | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 41 | BOR | Tiquilia plicata | plicate coldenia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 42 | BRA | Brassica tournefortii | *Asian mustard | 20 | 10 | 20 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | ||||||
| 43 | BRA | Descurainia pinnata | western tansy-mustard | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 44 | BRA | Dithyrea californica | spectacle-pod | 20 | 99 | 99 | 30 | 99 | ||||||||
| 45 | BRA | Guillenia lasiophylla | California mustard | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 46 | BRA | Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum | hairy-podded pepper-grass | 3 | 10 | 10 | 50 | |||||||||
| 47 | BRA | Sisymbrium irio | *London rocket | 30 | 99 | 2 | 20 | |||||||||
| 48 | BRA | Streptanthella longirostris | longbeak streptanthella | 20 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 49 | CAC | Mammillaria dioica | California fish-hook cactus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| 50 | CAP | Isomeris arborea | bladderpod | 99 | 2 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 10 | 10 | ||||||
| 51 | CAR | Achyronychia cooperi | frost mat | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 52 | CHE | Atriplex hymenelytra | desert holly | 20 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 53 | CHE | Chenopodium murale | *nettle-leaved goosefoot | 5 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 54 | EUP | Chamaesyce polycarpa | small-seeded spurge | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | |||||||
| 55 | EUP | Croton californicus | California croton | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 56 | EUP | Ditaxis lanceolata | narrowleaf ditaxis | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 99 | 50 | |||||
| 57 | EUP | Euphorbia eriantha | beetle spurge | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 58 | EUP | Stillingia linearifolia | linear-leaved stillingia | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 59 | EUP | Stillingia spinulosa | annual stillingia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 60 | FAB | Astragalus lentiginosus var. borreganus | Borrego milk-vetch | 1 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 61 | FAB | Cercidium floridum ssp. floridum | blue palo verde | |||||||||||||
| 62 | FAB | Lotus rigidus | desert lotus | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
| 63 | FAB | Lotus strigosus | strigose lotus | 50 | ||||||||||||
| 64 | FAB | Lupinus arizonicus | Arizona lupine | 10 | 20 | 99 | ||||||||||
| 65 | FAB | Marina parryi | Parry's marina | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 66 | FAB | Psorothamnus emoryi | Emory's indigo-bush | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 67 | FAB | Psorothamnus schottii | indigo bush | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 68 | FOU | Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens | ocotillo | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 20 |
| 69 | GER | Erodium cicutarium | *redstem filaree | 1 | 5 | 99 | 99 | |||||||||
| 70 | HYD | Phacelia crenulata var. ambigua | heliotrope phacelia | 2 | 99 | |||||||||||
| 71 | HYD | Phacelia crenulata var. minutiflora | little-flowered heliotrope phacelia | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 72 | HYD | Phacelia distans | common phacelia | 3 | 10 | 99 | 99 | |||||||||
| 73 | KRA | Krameria grayi | white rhatany | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 74 | LAM | Hyptis emoryi | desert-lavender | 1 | 2 | 30 | 20 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 50 | 50 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 75 | LAM | Salvia eremostachya | desert sage | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 76 | NYC | Abronia villosa var. villosa | hairy sand-verbena | 1 | 30 | 99 | 99 | 99 | ||||||||
| 77 | NYC | Allionia incarnata | trailing four o'clock | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 78 | NYC | Mirabilis bigelovii var. retrorsa | wishbone plant | 5 | 10 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 79 | ONA | Camissonia californica | California suncup | 20 | ||||||||||||
| 80 | ONA | Camissonia claviformis ssp. peirsonii | brown-eyed primrose | 10 | 30 | 99 | 99 | 99 | ||||||||
| 81 | ONA | Camissonia pallida ssp. pallida | pale sun-cup | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 82 | ONA | Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides | dune primrose | 20 | 20 | 99 | ||||||||||
| 83 | PAP | Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. minutiflora | small-flowered poppy | 3 | 20 | 30 | 30 | 99 | ||||||||
| 84 | PAP | Eschscholzia parishii | Parish's poppy | 1 | 2 | 30 | 20 | |||||||||
| 85 | PLA | Plantago ovata | desert plantain | 5 | 99 | 99 | ||||||||||
| 86 | POL | Gilia stellata | star gilia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 87 | POL | Eriogonum deflexum var. deflexum | flat-topped buckwheat | |||||||||||||
| 88 | POL | Eriogonum inflatum | desert trumpet | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 89 | POL | Eriogonum thomasii | Thomas' buckwheat | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 90 | POL | Eriogonum wrightii var. nodosum | Wright's buckwheat | 30 | 30 | 30 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 91 | POR | Calandrinia ambigua | desert red maids | 5 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 92 | RES | Oligomeris linifolia | narrowleaf oligomeris | 30 | ||||||||||||
| 93 | ROS | Prunus fremontii | desert apricot | 1 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 94 | RUT | Thamnosma montana | turpentine broom | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| 95 | SCR | Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii | Bigelow's monkeyflower | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 96 | SIM | Simmondsia chinensis | jojoba | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 97 | SOL | Datura wrightii | sacred datura | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 98 | SOL | Lycium andersonii | Anderson's desert-thorn | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 99 | SOL | Lycium brevipes var. brevipes | desert-thorn | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 100 | SOL | Lycium fremontii | Fremont box-thorn | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 101 | SOL | Nicotiana obtusifolia | desert tobacco | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 102 | SOL | Physalis crassifolia | thick-leaved ground cherry | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| 103 | VIS | Phoradendron californicum | desert mistletoe | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 104 | ZYG | Fagonia laevis | California fagonia | 3 | 20 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 105 | ZYG | Larrea tridentata | creosote bush | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 20 | ||||
| 106 | LIL | Hesperocallis undulata | desert lily | 50 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 107 | POA | Aristida purpurea | purple three-awn | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 108 | POA | Cynodon dactylon | *Bermuda grass | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 109 | POA | Pennisetum setaceum | *fountain grass | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| 110 | POA | Pleuraphis rigida | big galleta | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 30 | ||||||||
| 111 | POA | Schismus barbatus | *Mediterranean schismus | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 99 |
Links to Other Webpages, etc. on Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Blooms
DesertUSA Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflower Reports For 2009
Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers: Where and When to Look from the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflower Hotline: (760)767-4684. "Information on this recording is updated regularly."
Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute Wildflowers (link didn't work on 9 February 2009)
Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline (Reports begin on 6 March 2009)