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2009 Reports
Apr 20 2009 Lori reports: I took these along Cima and kelso roads in the Mojave preserve
I believe one is some kind of astralagus. there is a big patch of the blooming prickly pear a few minutes northeast of the kelso railroad depot on kelso road. Also found wildflowers near Amboy.
Mar 31 2009 The Park reports Linda Slater, chief of resource interpretation at Mojave National Preserve, said she has not seen any budding Joshua trees yet. She said desert dandelions are blooming the most at the preserve, and visitors can see them on Kelbaker and Cima Roads, at the Kelso Depot Visitors Center, and on Interstate 40 between Barstow and Ludlow.
“We had an area that burned in our park a couple years ago, and that always puts on a good wildflower show,” Slater said.
Lupine, cecilia, desert chicories, cacti, daisies, pincushions, Mojave asters, wild rhubarb, purple mat and fiddleneck are also visible in Mojave National Preserve, said Lesley Thornburg, operations manager at Cadiz Inc.
Mar 24 2009 DUSA reports Devil's Playground, Kelso Dunes, and Zzyzx Road, are starting to bloom with lilac sunbonnet, wild rhubarb,desert chicory, and desert marigold.
Feb 25 2009 Alysia reports Spent last Friday night and Saturday morning at Kelso Sand Dunes (20 Feb 2009) and didn't see any flowers in my wandering or on the drive out. I spotted one small white sand verbena starting to come up and did see some green along the roadside north of Kelso Depot toward Baker. (near the lava fields) One ranger at the visitor center said some (little) blooming in the lower elevations was happening, but she didn't seem to know of any blooms yet.
Feb 8 2009 DUSA reports - Rain came to parts of the park.
Jan. 1, 2009 DUSA reports: Some early rain may help the wildflowers this year.
2008 Reports
April 2, 2008 Sandy reports: March 29th, lots of Desert Lillies were seen along Hwy 62, approximately 30 miles west of Hwy 62 and Hwy 127 junction in the area around Iron Age Rd. They were easily visible from the road and just starting to bloom amongst sand verbena, primrose, desert dandelion, dusty maidens, etc. The flowers at Amboy Crater are pretty much done and the grasshoppers (millions?) and lizards have taken over- still a nice hike though.
March 30th and 31st, Mojave National Preserve- the Dune primrose and sand verbena are still blooming near Kelso Dunes. The best area seemed to be around the camping area, ~4 miles west (of Kelbaker Rd) on Kelso Dunes Rd. There is a wash there that is full of flowers- at least 3 types of primrose, verbenas, canterbury bells, chia, desert dandelion, wild rhubarb, phacelias, milkvetch, desert marigold, and many others that I have not identified. It is probably only 100 yards from the camping area, but not visible from it. To find it go to the very large Tamarisk tree, walk to the north towards the dunes and slightly east.
The Joshua Trees are still going strong in the Cima Dome area. Along the trail to Teutonia Peak there was purple mat, woolly daisy, desert paintbrush, desert rue, and broad-flowered gilia beginning to bloom and many others soon to follow. Also, I think I found a desert live-forever (?) in the rocks up around the peak.
In the Cinder Cone area, along Aiken Mine Rd on the way to the lava tubes there are lots of mat flowers, desert dandelions, phacelia, etc blooming amongst the lava rocks- also mojave yucca.
April 1, 2008 WB reports: Mojave National Preserve on Cima Dome near Teutonia Peak on March 26, 2008. Joshua Trees just getting started with their full bloom. Lots of small ground cover blooming everywhere.
March 26, 2008 Linda reports: March 25, Mojave National Preserve - Joshua trees in bloom all over. Hole in the wall trail - we did not find the purple flowers Nuntiya reports - mostly low plant mats with tiny flowers, like an alpine meadow, in the south part of the hike. The only larger flowers are along the road side. Thanks for your web site - we are really enjoying this season, with the cues from your readers on what to see, and their great photos.
March 24, 2008 Nuntiya reports: My husband and I just returned from a trip to the Mojave, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. We have been planning this trip for quite some time and have been monitoring your website for wildflower reports up until the day we left. Attached are some photos which we took in the Mojave National Preserve on Sunday, March 16th. Incidentally, that morning, it snowed during our hike of the Teutonic peak area, but the skies cleared and we had a glorious day afterall.
 2008 Wildflower Season - Videos
click on link below
Make your plans now to be in the desert during the wildflower season and take your digital camera with you. Send your pictures and reports to Jim@desertusa.com. He will post them on the wildflower reports site so that everyone can enjoy the wildflowers. Please do not change the automatically generated subject line on your E-mail to us. We use this subject to make sure we are able to spot your E-mail. (Please include dates and locations of your pictures).
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