The Sonoran Desert is showing off with a sort of "second spring" this month, thanks to repeated dousings from monsoon rains. Clumps of wildflowers dot the landscape, cacti are blooming brightly, and hillsides are cloaked in lush green growth smack in the heart of the hot desert summer.
Botanists say it's an uncommonly brilliant summer bloom - the best in a decade.
"It doesn't even look exactly like a desert out there anymore. The landscape looks soft with all the vegetation," said Russ Buhrow, curator of plants at Tohono Chul park.
"Usually your summer rains don't bring that many flowers, but this year is different," Buhrow said. "I'd say it's a once-in-10-years phenomenon this year. It's unusual, but we'll take it."
Buhrow said you can get a look at the show in many desert areas around Tucson - from trails in the Tucson Mountains west of the city to roadsides near the town of Catalina north of Tucson.
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"The lower San Pedro Valley would be another good spot - in the area from Redington to Mammoth" northeast of Tucson, Buhrow said.
Among the bloomers that are lacing the landscape with color this month:
• Bright yellow-orange caltrops, also known as summer poppies.
• Desert senna, producing yellow blooms on a bushy plant.
• Trailing four o'clocks, sporting pinkish-purple blooms.
• Barrel cacti, with showy flowers of green-yellow or red-orange, depending on the plant.
• Cholla cacti, with flowers ranging in color from yellow to hues of pink and red.
• Pincushion cacti - small plants that produce brilliant pink blooms.
Did you know?
The barrel cactus, blooming now in the Tucson area, is often called the "compass cactus." That's because many - but not all - mature barrels lean toward the south or southwest.
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192. On Twitter: @DouglasKreutz
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