The 2008 Wildflower
Season was the best in several years. To
review the best blooming areas check all the comments and photos posted one
DesertUSA's Wildflower Reports. Be sure to
take a look at our video retrospective too, links above.
We'd
like to see your pictures too. Send your pictures and reports
to Jim@desertusa.com. We will post them on the
wildflower reports site so that everyone can enjoy the wildflowers.
Please do not change the automatic generated subject line on your
E-mail to us. We use this subject to make sure we are able to
spot your E-mail.
In our wildflower
guide we have added some new pictures. Some of the
pictures are sized to work on the IPod and similar devices. With your
IPod you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the
desert. Click
Here for more information.
NOTICE TO
UPDATE YOUR FLASH
PLAYER: The
new Flash 8 player plug-in
for browsers has
greatly improved video
presentations for the
internet. We intend to
use it to improve your
DesertUSA experience
with more great sounds
and video of the desert.
To update your
browser to the latest version
of Flash click
here.
Wildflowers and other Flowering Desert Plants
Desert plants have adapted to the extremes of heat and
aridity by developing a lifestyle in conformance with the seasons of
greatest moisture and/or coolest temperatures. These type of plants
are usually (and inaccurately) referred to as annuals --
plants that live for only a season -- and perennials -- plants
that live for several years.
Desert perennials often
survive by remaining dormant during dry periods of the year, then
springing into bloom when water becomes available. Some perennials,
like members of the Lily Family, may remain dormant underground for
several years before adequate winter rains rouse them back to
life.
Most annual desert plants germinate only after heavy
seasonal rains, then complete their reproductive cycle very quickly.
They bloom prodigiously for a few weeks in the spring, accounting for
most of the annual wildflower explosions of the deserts. Quickly
pollinated, their heat- and drought-resistant seeds are broadcast by
the winds, which then remain dormant in the soil until the following
year's annual rains.
The term "annuals" implies blooming
yearly, but since this is not always the case, desert annuals are
more accurately referred to as ephemerals. Many such
ephemerals can complete an entire life cycle in just a few
weeks.
In our wildflower
guide we have added some new pictures. Some of the
pictures are sized to work on the IPod and similar devices. With your
IPod you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the
desert. Click
Here for more information.
Tips for viewing
wildflowers
For more reports click
on the links below.
2008 wildflower videos click on link below
