Desert Wildflowers
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May 4 2011 Cathy Reports: Things in the foothils of north/central CA are just gorgeous right now. Took a drive around the Jackson/Hwy88 area and ANY small side road is just bursting with color. Whole hillsides and cutbanks of color. Lupines, itherial's spear, brodea, dudleya, yellow iris, chinese houses, poppies, larkspur - you name it, it's blooming! I would imagine all the sierra foothills are similar now. Temps this week are warming up so who knows how long it'll last. The coast to crest EBMUD trail around James Bar was particularly packed with Chinese Houses - get permit at one of the lakes before hiking. Dogwood was also out up a little higher into the pines.

A friend went to Mendecino last week too and said all the wildflowers were perfect right now up there.

April 23 2011 David W Reports: Sat, April 16 - visited North Table Mountain ecological reserve (managed by Dept. of Fish and Game) just north of Oroville. Now in full bloom. Carpets of lupine and goldfields everywhere on the plateau, with poppies, owls clover, popcorn flower, and others I don't know in patches, mostly in the swales and ravines. The area is grazed, so the grass is kept low. There is a designated parking area on Cherokee Rd with portable toilets but no other facilities. No maintained trails - just wander around on the plateau. Plenty of flowers close in to the parking area. Oh, there are waterfalls here, too, where the little streams drop off the cliff bands that edge the plateau. Phantom Falls was running well - drops about 140 feet. The ground was still moist on the 16th, so the bloom should last a couple of weeks.

April 19 2011 David W Reports: Went to Table Mtn. near Oroville, CA this past Sunday, 4/17/11. Bloom is in full swing. We counted 17 species in total. There are extensive blooms of goldfields, lupine, pygmy poppies, and two varieties of clover near lava outcrops/dry soil areas. Yellow monkey flowers, and a white flower, I am unfamiliar with, line all the edges of creeks, and vernal pools. I have come to this area for over fifteen years and have never seen such extensive fields of lupine.

April 19 2011 David Reports: I was in the foothills outside Marysville, CA, in northern CA. These were shot Sunday 4/16, using a Nikon D80. Everything is very green, and in some areas, the wildflowers are really starting to pop. I think it's still early- still lots of buds. I saw triteleia, ookow, various clovers and vetch, blue eyed grass, lupine, white brodiaea, goldfields, popcorn flowers, a few poppies, and others. There are spots with lush green grass, interspersed with countless tiny flowers. The warm weather we finally got this weekend must have really helped trigger the bloom. Now we're getting more rain and snow, which should help to prolong the display.

April 8 2011 David Reports: Last weekend, two friends and I went up the Merced River Canyon. In recent years, this area has had a very nice bloom of both flowers and redbud. Not so this year- amazing redbud bloom but hardly any flowers. Either it's early or the grasses have outcompeted the wildflowers this year. In big chunks of Nor Cal, the invasive grasses have exploded this season blocking out the flowers. La Nina, what can I tell you.

April 4, 2011 Sam reports: Mummy Mountain Trail at Coyote Lake County Park, Gilroy CA. The flowers are later than last year and not as numerous, but this trail has an amazing variety of species. A great 4 mile loop.

April 2, 2011 John reports: Walker Ridge Road, Lake County 4/1/2011
Sorry to report, the road is rough and has been torn up as well as many surrounding areas by persons with ATV's,Motorcycles and other all wheel drive vehicles when very wet. A shame these damages will last for years and cause a long term erosion problem. BLM and pvt lands.

Flowers are blooming, one must get out and look for them. Redbud is blooming throughout the area and is very pretty. Weather has been warm and dry for a few days, if it continues, the flowers will not last long.
Canon EOS 7D & EF 100 f2.8L Macro IS USM

April 2, 2011 Robert reports: Northern California, Mount Diablo, April 1: Mt Diablo's North Peak Trail had very few flowers, less than I expected. But lower elevations were very green. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1

Feb 13, 2011 David reports: Yesterday a friend & I went up to Table Mountain, near Oroville. In total, we counted 11 species, but except for some dense clusters of goldfields, lupine and pygmy poppies, the bloom is just beginning. Even for these clusters, they were sparsely spread across the hillsides. The mountain is quite green & my expectation is that rains coming in later this week will trigger the bloom. Most blooms were either close to watercourses and/or prarie potholes.

Jan 2, 2011 Dusa reports: Heavy rain in most area of Northern CA

We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone. iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.

Photos tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.

Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...

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