The Desert is in Full Bloom at Borrego Springs!

We drove out to Borrego Springs to view the wildflowers and then to Julian for some fresh apple pie.  The desert was just awash in flowers!  Here are a few of the flowers (before I got really tired of hunting for flower and bug IDs).

Arizona Lupine, Lupinus arizonicus, after taking a serious drubbing from the caterpillar invasion.  It appears that the thorny hairs were not enough to totally dissuade the caterpillars from their meal.

Whispering bells, Emenanthe penduliflora var penduliflora

Miniature Lupine species, unknown ID

Desert chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana

Bearded Cryptantha, Cryptantha barbigera

Beetle pollinating a desert dandelion

Brown-eyed evening primrose and Sand Verbena

Brown-Eyed Evening Primrose, Camissonia claviformis

Caterpillar for the White-lined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata.  These were EVERYWHERE!  Apparently, there are hawks that migrate in every year and eat these voracious little buggers.

Desert grasshopper, unknown ID, blending into the sand

Desert Lily, Hesperocallis undulata

 Desert sunflower, Geraea canescens

 Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides

Purple Phacelia, Phacelia distans

Sand Verbena, Abronia villosa aurita

Smooth Desert Dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata

Furry caterpillar, Unknown ID

Dune Sunflower, Helianthus niveus

Desert Lilly

Desert Lilly, Hesperocallis undulata; Anza Borrego, California. The desert is ablaze with flowers including Sand Verbena, Brown-eyed Evening Primrose, and Arizona Lupine. There were also a few Desert Lillies interspersed between the blaze of yellow and lavender wildflowers, the sparkling white flowers really standing out. It's hard to imagine these plants growing out in the middle of the dry desert sand, given their water-loving cousins that most of us are more familiar with. That just makes it all the more amazing and exciting to see!