Bloom Reports from the Anza-Borrego Desert: 2025-2026
Table of Contents
Latest Summary of Bloom Status
Bloom Reports from Individual Hikes This Season
Links to Other Webpages on Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Blooms
Background Information for Bloom Reports from the Anza-Borrego Desert
Older Bloom Reports from 2009 to present
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| Fig. 1. Left: a field of chinchweed, Pectis papposa, in full bloom just north of the Culp Valley Campground. Picture taken by Jim Roberts on 17 October 2025.
Right: A beautiful individual plant of chinchweed in full bloom in the North Fork of the Arroyo Salada just south of S22, photographed by Fred Melgert on 15 October 2025. Click on the pix to see a larger version or to go to the original iNat observation. Also see view of the Pectis fields in Borrego Valley seen from the pullout on the Montezuma Grade, taken by Don Rideout on 4 October 2025! The view looked similar on 17 October from the Culp Valley area. | |
Latest Summary of Bloom Status
Summary as of 20 October 2025
Most of the Borrego Desert is still in good bloom from the monsoonal rain in August and September! There are carpets of yellow from chinchweed, Pectis papposa, in the area around the town of Borrego Springs, and in Culp Valley in the area of the Culp Valley Campground. Scattered plants of Pectis are found in many locations. There have been 65 iNat observations of Pectis in the last week in 12 widespread locations, from 13 to 20 October 2025. If you click on that link after 20 October, the number will probably be higher.
If you want to see these flowers, do not delay. As of 5 October 2025, the blooms on the Pectis in the Bisnaga Alta Wash area are already beginning to fade, and the green leaves on the ocotillos in that area are beginning to brown and fall off. The Pectis bloom was mostly gone in Bisnaga Alta Wash on 18 October 2025, as were the annoying bugs that had been present there.
Monsoonal plants grow and bloom quickly, and many of them stop blooming almost as quickly. Mammillaria tetrancistra (=Cochemiea t.), common fishhook cactus, finished blooming in early September, just two weeks after the rain. Devil's claws, Proboscidea althaeifolia, have essentially finished blooming now, six weeks after the rain, although their "unicorn" fruit is in prime condition. Boerhavia triquetra intermedia, five wing spiderling, has already completely dried up in Shelter Valley, six weeks after the rain.
Plants still in good bloom, besides Pectis in most areas, are: Kallstroemia californica, California caltrop; and Amaranthus fimbriatus, fringed amaranth. A number of other plant species are in bloom, but in general their numbers are low, and they are not widespread, including Abronia villosa, desert sand verbena, Datura discolor, desert thorn-apple; and Allionia incarnata, trailing windmills. As of 20 October 2025, there are 344 observations of 74 species noted as being in bloom since 10 October 2025. If you click that link after 20 October, the numbers may be larger, but plants seen earlier in the month may no longer be in bloom.
Including observations not tagged as being in bloom, there are 1,287 obs of 203 species posted at iNat since 10 October 2025. If you click that link after 20 October, the numbers will be larger.
If you go out to see the bloom, you might need to take precautions against biting flies, but it seems that they are mostly gone now. Biting flies, including no-see-ums, have bothered flower lovers at Bisnaga Alta Wash on 28 September and 5 October 2025, leaving them with itchy bites that stick around for days. The horrible big flies that sometimes appear in some places "terrorized" Fred and Carla at Fossil Canyon on 7 October 2025. However, we were not troubled by biting insects in Culp Valley on 17 October 2025, nor did insects cause problems in Borrego Springs on 16 October 2025, nor in Bisnaga Alta Wash on 18 October 2025.
See also previous versions of this page.
Bloom Reports from Individual Hikes This Season
The latest bloom reports are given first (i.e., the reports are in inverse order of time). As detailed immediately above, you can see a map of where the hikes were from any linked iNat post of the species in bloom.
18 October 2025: car trip from just north of Canebrake to Blair Valley by @planetaverde303.
17 October 2025: Culp Valley Campground / Pena Spring Area Botanical Report 17 October 2025 by Tom Chester, Jeff Field, Jim Roberts, and Tom White.
5 October 2025: Monsoonal Car Trip along S2 from Scissors Crossing to Bisnaga Alta Wash by Tom Chester, Craig Denson, Don Rideout, Mark and Rebecca Stevens, and Cathy Wiley
28 September 2025: car trip from Yuha Desert in Imperial County to lower Blair Valley by @planetaverde303.
10 September 2025: car trip from Borrego Springs to Salton City, and back via SR78 by Tom Chester and Don Rideout.
1 September 2025: car trip from the San Felipe Valley to Indian Gorge / Torote Canyon by Tom Chester, Don Rideout, and Jim Roberts.
For many more bloom reports, see Anza-Borrego Wildflowers Bloom Report by Fred Melgert and Carla Hoegen.
Links to Other Webpages on Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Blooms
Anza-Borrego Wildflowers Bloom Report by Fred Melgert and Carla Hoegen, often with daily wildflower updates.
All iNaturalist observations in the Borrego Desert since 15 August 2025, 3,574 observations of 267 species (numbers are as of 20 October 2025; click on "Filters" to change the dates).
Wildflower Updates from the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park official site, with wildflower information on it. When they start producing current wildflower reports, click on the link near the top with the word Update, which might be updated weekly.
DesertUSA Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflower Reports
Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute Wildflowers and their Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflower Hotline: (760)767-4684. "Information on this recording is updated regularly."
Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline (Reports begin the first Friday in March)