The spring 2019, bloom in the Anza Borrego Desert was spectacular. Who knew after the super bloom in 2017 that just 2 years later there would be an even better bloom? The desert received frequent rains beginning October through February. By April the desert bloom is gone, but a lot depends on the temperatures, wind, additional rain, cloud cover, elevation, and the presence of insects. See the previous post about a February trip to check out the bloom along S2, the Salton Sea Highway.
Hellhole Canyon
We were not disappointed; there we found, growing in the loose sandy soil, countless blooming plants. We were able to drive a considerable way on an unpaved desert road that ran through a dry wash. There we found several other species as well as cactus, growing in more stable soils.
In early March, we made a second trip. This time our main destination was the palm oasis and Maidenhair Falls in Hellhole Canyon. Trails into Hellhole Canyon start at the bottom of Montezuma Grade (S2). I hadn't hiked there in over 30 years and was excited to return. The trail to the falls rises gradually across the desert, climbing 1000 feet over three miles. Closer to the falls, a small stream appears and the trail switches from broad and sandy to a narrow winding path over and around granite boulders. Along the way there are numerous crossings of the stream before reaching the palms and small waterfalls. The palms are Washingtonia filifera, the only palm native to California, restricted to desert canyons where there are springs or creeks that provide a source of year-round water. Along the coast, we are more familiar with the palm's cousin, Washingtonia robusta, the Mexican fan palm. Filifera is generally shorter with a much stouter trunk, larger fans and a slightly grey coloration.
Me at Hellhole Palms - Washingtonia filifera
Along the trail we encountered many plant species not seen in the lower desert. The first, and most visible at the lower end of the trail, was heavily blooming Phacelia distans which seems to grow in the partial shade of every bush and cactus.
Ocotillo and Phacelia distans on Hellhole Canyon Trail
Flat wash areas were covered with two complementary-colored, low-growing flowers that covered open sandy areas: the vibrant hot-pink flowered Fremont monkeyflower (Diplacus fremontii) and the tiny hot-yellow flowered Wallace's woolly daisy (Eriophyllum wallacei var. wallacei). Some call these 'belly flowers' since you need to lay on the ground to get a good look at the very short plants and flowers. Further up the canyon we encountered wild Canterbury bells (minor). They seem to have a preference for growing at the base of the large salt-and-pepper granite boulders making them great subjects for photographs. Often nearby were yellow flowered poppies, which could not be a better complementary color choice.
Coyote Canyon
The day after visiting Hellhole Canyon, we got a relatively early start and headed up Coyote Canyon. It had been closed due to flooding during our February visit. Two-wheeled drive vehicles can go a very long way up the relatively flat and graded lower portion of the canyon. Here again we encountered large fields of verbena, primroses, and daisies.
Poppies in Coyote Canyon
Desert Five Spot
However, we were on the search for a specific flower, the Desert Five Spot(Eremalche rotundifolia).
It is another small plant, usually under 6 inches tall. Though related to mallows, the leaves look a bit like pelargonium leaves and have red stems. Depending on sun exposure, the leaf color varies from green, to dark magenta, to brown. However, the hot pink global flowers have a distinctive red blotch at the base of each petal that can only be viewed by looking directly into the flower. The flowers are only open when warmed by the sun. It is one of my favorite desert flowers. We searched for over an hour and were ready to give up when we found a few plants growing at the base of a large rock fall. We also saw numerous hawk moth larvae in this area feeding on the flowers.
Texas Dip and Devil’s Slide
Agave deserti at Texas Dip
Hillside of desert sunflower, Geraea canescens. at Texas Dip
To complete our desert tour we headed further east past the Texas Dip, where we saw lots of yellow poppies, blooming barrel cacti and more five-spots, to the off-road vehicle area of Borrego. It was a bit too loud and damaged by vehicles for my taste, but we did hike up the rocks at Devil's Slide which gave a great view of the yellow haze across the lower desert created by the seeming endless blooms of the desert sunflower (Geraea canescens). It was in this area that the migration of the painted lady butterflies was most notable. At times there were so many they looked like falling leaves blowing across the road.
Sand Verbena buried in sand at Devil's Slide!
Clouds of Painted Ladies Blew across the desert
Our final desert destination was at the far southern end of S2 just before the wind turbines on I-8. There were not many flowers encountered along S-2, but the desert was very green with the promise of more wildflowers later in the season.
Carrizo Canyon
At our final stop above Carrizo Canyon, we noticed that the brown-eyed primrose (Chylismia claviformis peirsonii), which were mostly off-white in the main areas of the park, had taken on a lovely soft yellow color. Here we found several blooming California fishhook cacti, teddy bear cholla and a steep slope covered with more Arizona lupines and ghost flowers (Mohavea confertiflora).
Carrizo Badlands
Mammillaria dioica, Fish Hook cactus in bloom
Wind farm just before I-8
I highly recommend the website borregowildflowers.com, which is an excellent site for information about desert wildflowers and an excellent resource for identifying plants. They even have an app you can download to your phone for identification in the field.
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