California wildflower watchers have reason to believe 'superbloom' may erupt

While a wildflower “superbloom” is hard to predict, experts say a heavy seed load, combined with the rainfall in Southern California, could soon make for a must-see kaleidoscope of color in the weeks ahead.

ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK, Calif. — For most of the year, the hills around Southern California are characteristically brown. Los Angeles’s Mediterranean-type climate survives on an average of less than 15 inches of rain a year, and in areas that are classified as desert, it’s even less.

But near-record winter rainfall has turned those often-brown slopes into seas of undulating green — and in places, a sleeping beauty is slowly awakening.

While a wildflower “superbloom” is hard to predict, experts say a heavy seed load in previous years, combined with the rainfall, could soon make for a must-see kaleidoscope of color in the weeks ahead.

In places like the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in San Diego County, the bloom is already underway — though it’s too soon to define it as “super.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-wildflower-superbloom-rcna143100

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