Wildflower Report from Death Valley

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January 4, 2016

We’re seeing patches of Desert Gold (Geraea canescens). Actual fields of flowers on the black volcanic rocks northeast of Shoreline Butte on the Badwater Road! Definitely more spots of yellow than last week. Brown-eyed Evening Primrose (Camissonia claviformis) can be found throughout the lower elevations. Sand verbena (Abronia villosa) is blooming down south on the Badwater Road, and Caltha-Leaved Phacelia (Phacelia calthifolia) and Purple Mat (Nama demissum) are blooming on the alluvial fans in the Artist’s Drive area and in the southern canyons of the Black Mountains.I’ve seen a couple of Mohavea (Mohavea breviflora) at Natural Bridge and the East Entrance to the park.

There are lots of Turtleback (Psathyrotes ramosissma) blooming along Highway 190 east of Zabriskie Point and in some canyons of the Funeral Mountains. Acton Encelia (Encelia actoni) can be found on the North Highway between Titus Canyon and Mesquite Campground, as well as in the Funeral Mountains east of Furnace Creek. I saw my first Notch-leafed Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata) of the year at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. The Owlshead Mountains seem to be the hot spot right now. In addition to all of the flowers found elsewhere, sprucebush (Peusephyllum shottii), golden evening primrose (Camissonia brevipes) and desert star (Monoptilon bellioides) have started blooming there. Some areas of the park were gifted with a bit of welcome moisture at Christmas, with scattered rain and snow showers throughout the day. Precipitation is predicted throughout the area for this week, too. Keep a sharp lookout and get out of your car and walk for the best chance of finding some of these early season flowers!

For more information about the 2016 Desert Wildflower Season, check out DesertUSA’s wildflower updates here.

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