October 30, 2016

Desert palm oases

October 30, 2016/ Bradley Winckelmann

The California desert fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) exists only in small palm oases in the southwest US and Baja California. Tens of thousands of years ago, these palms were likely abundant and widespread across the southwest during a much wetter period. Today, the tree survives only in small isolated patches in the desert where tectonic activity has permitted there to be standing water. Oases like this one, tucked away in the canyons of the southwest, give us clues to what the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts might have looked like in the past.

The fan palm flowers attracting honey bees.

A desert fan palm beginning to produce flowers.

Brad Winckelmann

About Brad

I'm a Restoration Biologist at Joshua Tree National Park with the Great Basin Institute. I'm from Syracuse, NY where I went to school for Conservation Biology and Recreation Resource and Protected Area Management at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

I currently live in Boulder, CO:

Life is pretty cool. I try to document the life I observe with iNaturalist, a citizen science tool that allows users share and map observations of biodiversity across the globe.
Using crowd-sourced data available on iNaturalist, I've learned a lot about the phenological trends and distribution of flora in Joshua Tree NP, assisting with several of our monitoring projects. Come join!

Every day is Earth Day, but it's official today. It's also National Park Week, so here is one of my favorite, fairly elusive and uncommon flowers from Joshua Tree NP (and Mojave Desert in general), the desert lily, Hesperocallis undulata (undulata referring to its undulating leaf margins). It's special for a couple reasons. First, it's monotypic (sole member of its genus) in the Agavaceae family, although it's been placed in both the Liliaceae and Asparagaceae, depending on what flora you reference. While not considered rare in California, it's uncommon to find since its bulbs can lie dormant for years, only appearing in spring if specific precipitation requirements have been met during the preceeding winter. Since desert lily bulbs are 12-18 inches deep in sandy flats, there must be significant and consistant rainfall all at once. On average, the Joshua Tree area receives about 8 inches of rain throughout an entire year, but the desert lily requires about 1.5 inches of rain all at once in a single preciptation event to flower, a tall order for the region. #jtnp #joshuatreenationalpark #joshuatreenp #joshuatree #nationalpark #hesperocallis #hesperocallisundulata #agavaceae #liliaceae #asparagaceae #botany #mojave #mojavedesert #desert #floraofcalifornia #cnps #flora #wildflowers #calflora #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsplantsplants #californianativeplants #earthday #nationalparkweek

Congrats to @itsyourpal_val on her new botanist position at Tongass National Forest in Alaska! Although I left Joshua Tree NP last summer, I had the pleasure of working with Val for close to three years, botanizing the park with her and exploring the amazing floristic curiosities of some of the most remote places of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Working with Val was a highlight of my time in southern California, and she never failed to get everybody excited about plants (even if by periodically converting the center island table into her own personal botany lab). Good luck Val, I'm incredibly happy for you. . . . #joshuatreenps #joshuatreenp #jotr #jtnp #joshuatree #mojave #desert #mojavedesert #science #nps #nationalparkservice #nationalpark #greatbasininstitute #botany #californianativeplants #botanizing #california

Seeing a lot of spring wildflower posts from the northeast lately and it's making me miss early spring in NY. So here are some of my favorite spring ephemerals, all from the Camillus Unique Area. Within this property is a rare, climax mesic sugar maple and American beech forest nearly two centuries old, one of only a few examples of a mature northern hardwood forest in Central New York. Photos in order: 1. Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's breeches); 2. Trillium erectum (red trillim); 3. Caulophyllum giganteum (early blue cohosh); 4. Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot); 5. Erythronium americanum (yellow trout lily); 6. Hepatica acutiloba (sharp-lobed hepatica); 7. Trillium grandiflorum (large white trillium); and 8. Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina springbeauty). . . . #newyorkwildflowers #wildflowers #springephemeral #springephemerals #flora #newyorkflowers #cny #centralnewyork #camillusuniquearea #botany #springflowers #dicentracucullaria #dutchmansbreeches #trillium #trilliumerectum #caulophyllumgiganteum #sanguinariacanadensis #erythroniumamericanum #troutlily #hepaticaacutiloba #trilliumgrandiflorum #claytoniacaroliniana #newyork #newyorkflora

It's @americorps week! I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to participate in two amazing years of national and community service with the Nevada Conservation Corps and the National Civilian Community Corps, working alongside incredibly talented and passionate people from across the country. AmeriCorps is a federally funded program that has so far provided over 1.6 billion hours community service by responding to natural disasters, boosting education, helping with environmental conservation projects, bolstering public safety, fighting poverty, and improving community health by working with thousands of government, nonprofit, and community organizations each year. Having now been on the other end, helping to sponsor AmeriCorps teams while working at Joshua Tree NP, I can say how critical AmeriCorps is to land managing agencies that are constantly dealing with budget cuts from administrations and congresses that fail to support our public lands. And for me personally, the program has given me the opportunity to see parts of the country I would have otherwise never been, to work and live with people from all walks of life, and to make meaningful contributions to people's lives and to organizations with important missions. It's a shame to so frequently see this critical program on the chopping block as it is with this administration. #americorps #americorpsweek #madeinamericorps #americorpsnccc #nevadaconservationcorps #nccc #communityservice #volunteer #volunteering #volunteers #serve #nonprofit

Nice to finally enjoy a fall day with @zla22 again! Been three years since enjoying a proper autumn day.

Finally got to see the Chuckwalla Cholla in flower! Cylindropuntia chuckwallensis (Cactaceae) is a newly described (2014) species occuring on rocky soils on hillsides, washes, and canyon walls between 400-1600m. In Joshua Tree NP, they can be found near Cottonwood Oasis and in the Eagle Mountains. Historically identified as C. echinocarpa (silver cholla), herbarium specimens would often note the odd orange-red flowers contrasting from the typical green-yellow flowers of the silver cholla. In addition to its unique combination of characters, recent genetic work concluded that the cactus is genetically distinct from its closest morphological relatives. Tucked safely away in canyon walls, no current conservation concerns are associated with known populations. . . . #jtnp #joshuatreenationalpark #joshuatreenp #joshuatree #cylindropuntia #chuckwallacholla #cholla #cylindropuntiachuckwallensis #cactaceae #cactus #cacti #botany #mojave #mojavedesert #sonorandesert #desert #floraofcalifornia #cnps #flora #wildflowers #calflora #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsplantsplants #californianativeplants

Linanthus maculatus (Polemoniaceae), a threatened species (CNPS 1B.2) endemic to southern California, this tiny plant is 2-3 cm in height and is restricted to dry canyons and alluvial fans in the Little San Bernardino Mountains and at the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park. Difficult to find due its size and its white flowers blending with the white quartz sand in which it grows, the plant's pollinators, germination requirements, seed longevity, and most other aspects of the biology of this species are unknown. This species is threatened due to the urbanization of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree, and is now likely extirpated from Palm Springs and the rest of Coachella Valley for the same reason. Off-highway vehicle recreation is also a major threat. The small size of these plants, combined with their occurrence in open sandy areas along washes, makes them particularly vulnerable to vehicle damage because washes are often used by OHV users as there aren't many large shrubs to impede vehicle traffic. . #jtnp #joshuatreenationalpark #joshuatreenp #joshuatree #linanthus #linanthusmaculatus #polemoniaceae #phlox #botany #mojave #mojavedesert #desert #floraofcalifornia #cnps #flora #wildflowers #calflora #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsplantsplants #californianativeplants

Never miss a snow day in the desert. . . . #joshuatreenps #joshuatreenp #joshuatreenationalpark #jtnp #nps #desertsnow #desert #snow #mojavedesert #mojave #winter #cholla #cacti #cactus #snowinthedesert

Early wildflower bloom in the park providing a little encouragement after the horrors of the absolutely pointless government shutdown. . . . #joshuatreenps #joshuatreenp #jtnp #joshuatreenationalpark #wildflowers #lupines #poppies #nationalparkservice #nationalpark #joshuatree

Rainy day at the park.

Brad Winckelmann

Brad Winckelmann

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Brad Winckelmann

Brad Winckelmann

About Brad