2005 Spring Wildflower Report for Southern Arizona

Cave Creek Recreation Area, March 26, 2005. The wildflower season appears to be at its peak in the Cave Creek area north of Phoenix. We hiked the popular Go-John trail which passes through a variety of terrains with opportunities to observe a variety of wildflowers.

The splashiest displays here at Cave Creek were definitely the brittlebrush. Numerous hilsides were completely covered in yellow (photo, right). The were numerous excellent stands of poppy (photo, left) but not the huge fields of four years ago. Also observed were scattered stands of blue lupine, purple owl clover, and violet phacelia, and a scattering of many other varieities. A few hedgehog cacti were also starting to blossom early with their huge lavender blossoms on display (photo, below left).

Cave Creek Recreation Area is part of the Maricopa County parks system. Nearby Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area also offers opportunities to observe wildflowers as well as good hiking and excellent vistas. Seven Springs Recreation Area is northeast of Cave Creek in the Tonto National Forest. It offers more remote recreation than the other parks and was the site of the best wildflower displays four years ago.

Dreamy Draw Park, March 11, 2005. On a gorgeous Friday evening, the wildflowers were plentiful. Blue lupine and purple phacelias were plentiful as were fiddleneck and poppies. The poppies have not filled into a solid field of color yet, as we observed four years ago. By being there at sunset until dusk, several unusual photos were obtained. They were taken a short distance from the parking lot up the Christensen Trail (#100).

Dreamy Draw Park is part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Units of the preserve are scattered throughout metro Phoenix, and give visitors the feel of being out in the wilds rather than in the middle of one of America's largest cities.

Phoenix, Arizona, March 5, 2005. Peach Blossoms (left) are not really wildflowers but they are too pretty to pass up. Here in the desert, we grow a variety of fruit trees successfully: Fig, Tangerine, Arizona Sweet Oranges, Pommelo (Pummelo,Pomelo - an exotic large citrus fruit that is an ancient ancestor of the common grapefruit), Blood Orange, Kumquats, two kinds of Peaches, Plum, and Apple.

Pichaco Peak State Park, March 4, 2005. Drove by the park on the way to Tucson. Not very splashy yet. A little bit of orange starting to show from poppies.

Phoenix Mountains Preserve, March 2, 2005. Nice poppy fields starting on the hillsides (right and below left) east of Dreamy Draw Park. These photos were taken on the Perl Charles Memorial Trail (#1a) along the north facing slopes overlooking trail 100. A little bit of lupine and phacelia (blue flowers) mixed in. Some of the drier south facing slopes had moderate displays of brittlebrush. The low-lying areas and washes had quite a bit of fiddleneck, green stalks 12-18 inches high with tiny bright-orange flowers. They're difficult to photograph due to the small size.

There are even better displays of poppies on the hillsides right behind Dreamy Draw Park.

Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, March 1, 2005. Maricops County's newest park, Spur Cross preserves a gorgeous chunk of desert north of the town of Cave Creek. It features saguaro forests with wonderful desert mountain backdrops, as well as a pretty riparian area (below) around Cave Creek which flows most of the time. Due to all of the rain this year, Cave Creek was more like a little river. We had to remove our boots and cross the creek in bare feet.

Unfortunately, there was not too much wildflower activity at this time, at least nothing particularly showy. Quite a bit of fiddleneck and a moderate amount of brittlebrush. A few other varieties were scattered around but nothing exciting. The wildflower season seems to be starting rather late this year.

Here are some of the wildflowers common to most of the desert areas of southern Arizona:

• Poppies. This most spectacular desert wildflower ranges from yellow to bright gold, about 1 1/2" across. It grows in huge patches when conditions are right. Most common here is the Mexican Gold Poppy (4 petals). Less common is the Arizona Poppy (5 petals) which is yellow with a crimson center.
• Brittlebush. A shrub which may be two to three feet high and wide. During a good spring the brittlebush can be loaded with bright yellow flowers 1" across. Hillsides can often be colored yellow with blooming brittlebush.
• Filaree. A small (1/2") five-lobed lavender flower, the filaree offered the most prominent displays following the poppies and brittlebrush. Its small size and mild color make it difficult to photo.
• Blue Phacelia. A small blue flower which clusters atop a 6-12 inch stalk, the phacelia mixed most often with the filaree.
• Lupine. The bright blue lupine is one of the most common and beautiful desert wildflowers. This year the lupine here is scattered rather than packed tightly together, making them less photogenic.
• Desert Globemallow. There were some nice displays of this desert shrub with bright orange flowers along the park access road.
• Chuparosa. This desert shrub with bright red tubular flowers was observed in a couple of places.
• Desert Chicory. This white, multi- petaled flower, about 1" to 1 1/2" across, was scattered on some hillsides, sometimes mixing with the poppies.
• Amsinkia (Fiddleneck). A 12" to 18" stalk features bright orange but tiny (1/4") flowers. Seen often in wash areas.
• Owl Clover. A bright purple, brushy wildflower (actually many tiny buds on a stalk), the owl clover was seen in a few scattered areas. It often mixes with lupine. A hillside carpeted with owl clover is one of the greatest sights of the desert. Sadly, it is also extremely rare. (See the lead photo in our Once in a Century... story.)
• Desert Popcorn. Clusters of tiny bright white flowers generally alongside the trail.
• Twist flower (silverbells). Small white bell-shaped flowers on a long stem.
• Fairy Duster. A purpleish flower with numerous hairy stamens, giving it a feathery look hence the name.
• Parry Penstemon (Beardtongue). Clusters of bright pink bell-shaped flowers on a long flower spike.