Carpets of yellow, orange and gold flowers are starting to cover the vast deserts of Southern California, the dramatic cliffs of the Bay Area and even near Los Angeles International Airport.
But do they add up to a “super bloom”? There is no single definition of the event, but so far this year’s blooms haven’t been as vibrant or abundant as the ones that took over large swaths of California last spring after drought-relieving rains. This year, the state also received plenty of winter rains.
After a particularly wet winter, spring can bring a riot of color, drawing droves of tourists to California and other parts of the American Southwest to see flower fields and pose for photos.
Here are some key facts about the natural wonder:
What is a super flower?
Scientists don’t agree on any one definition. In California and Arizona, there are vast expanses of desert that can quickly turn into lush fields of wildflowers as seeds lie dormant in the soil, then germinate and bloom around the same time.
Naomi Fraga, director of conservation programs at the California Botanic Gardens east of Los Angeles, said a recent study found that such widespread blooms visible through satellite imagery occurred in some years when average precipitation exceeded 30% after season. .
Does this year still count?
Fraga thinks not. That’s because there isn’t much diversity in the flowers that bloom in places like Death Valley, California.
This year’s blooms are not as large or dense as previous wildflowers, she said.
“When I think of super blooms, I think of flowers that are so extraordinary and that are once in a lifetime event,” Fraga said, adding that this year’s wildflower display “continues to be a beautiful show.”
Last spring, in early April, visitors to the California Poppy Sanctuary in Southern California’s Antelope Valley were treated to a dazzling orange display of the state flower. But around the same time this year, there were no orange blossoms in the fields, and preserve officials said the window for the impressive blooms to appear was getting “narrower and narrower.”
In Death Valley, one of the driest places on Earth, vast expanses of desert are dotted with gold, thanks to sunflowers that sprout after a particularly wet winter and spring.
Whether this constitutes a superflower “is really a matter of opinion,” said Evan Meyer, executive director of the California-based nonprofit Theodore Payne Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to protecting California’s native plants.
When does it happen?
April is usually the peak of spring wildflowers, but in higher elevations, wildflowers can continue blooming later in the spring.
Fraga said super blooms typically refer to low-elevation desert areas.
“It’s more a matter of geography than seasonality,” Meyer said. “Spring in the mountains has not yet begun, but spring in the desert has passed its peak.”
When temperatures rise in the desert, flowers dry out quickly.
How is climate change affecting super blooms?
Experts say it may be too early to tell.
Fraga said climate change is making precipitation patterns more erratic, but the effects on wildflowers could last for decades or even centuries because seeds remain dormant in the soil for long periods of time.
Unlike a typically dry summer, Southern California received heavy rains last summer, which she said may have spurred flowers to sprout out of season. Winter temperatures were also above average, allowing many plants to maintain blooms throughout the spring.
“This creates a very unusual flower,” Fraga said.
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