Mojave Desert Wildflowers

Explore Landscapes #26

For some time now I’ve been wanting to take the time to identify, and learn more about the wildflowers, trees, and shrubs, that I come across while hiking and photographing.

During a recent hike I decided to see how many species of wildflowers, trees, and shrubs, I could identify in a one-mile section of trail.

I’d love to be able to say that I can readily identify the majority of the flora that I see, however, at the moment, I can’t. But the list of species that I can recognize is slowly increasing.

Aiding and abetting me in this quest for wildflower knowledge is the excellent Mojave Desert Wildflowers book by Pam Mackay and the app Seek by iNaturalist.

(L-R) Pancake Pricklypear (Opuntia chlorotica) | Mojave Yucca (Yucca schidigera)

Firstly, the more obvious species: Joshua Trees, Yucca, and Pricklypear - those I don’t struggle to identify. Now comes the more interesting part - plants I can recognize but not always identify.

(L-R) California Juniper (Juniperus californica) | Engelmann’s Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii)

(L-R) Western Tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata) | Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa

(L-R) Singleleaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla) | Muller’s Oak (Quercus cornelius-mulleri)

(L-R) Shrubby Deervetch (Acmispon rigidus) | Wallace’s Woollydaisy (Eriophyllum wallacei)

(L-R) Fluffgrass (Dasyochloa pulchella) | California Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

(L-R) Desert Paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa) | Mesquite Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum)

And there you have it - fifteen species of wildflowers, trees, and shrubs - all within a few feet of a one-mile trail.