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After theirvivid Death Valley bloom last spring, California’s desert wildflowers are performing an encore this year. Poppies, arroyo lupines, rancher’s fiddleheads and other flowers are dousing the deserts of southern California in vibrant hues. This spring’s action is centered in the southeastern corner of the state rather than at Death Valley. Blooms have coated the ground at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — south of Palm Springs, where an influx of flower peepers has caused traffic jams — as well as other nearby parks and open areas. Death Valley itself isn’t experiencing a redux of last year’s flowery fireworks: Such displays usually happen about once per decade there. But the conditions about 200 miles south, near the state park, were optimal for a big bloom this year.
Desert wildflowers spend most of their lives as dormant seeds, waiting for years or even decades for the right combination of rain, sun and wind to sprout. They require gentle and abundant rainfall throughout the winter and spring for nourishment and to wash off protective seed coatings. Once enough rain has fallen, warm spring sunlight stimulates growth. If harsh winds don’t dehydrate the young plants — which could stunt or even kill them — the result is a “super bloom,” a profusion of wildflowers in excess of a typical year’s bounty.
Why would desert wildflowers blossom all at once? One reason the plants may have evolved to erupt in periodic super blooms is because it’s an efficient way to reproduce: the concentration of flowers can attract an army of pollinators that might otherwise fly on by.
The bloom isn’t expected to last long. Most of these flowers are called “ephemerals,” named for their fleeting blossoms. If you’d like to see them in person, before the desert returns to its less ornate state, plan your trip for the next week or two.
Andrew Cullen is a freelance photojournalist based in Los Angeles.
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California’s desert wildflowers burst into bright ‘super bloom’
by Andrew Cullen, High Country News March 24, 2017