Superbloom

The conditions under which a superbloom can occur are exceptional. Because some invasive grasses, such as bromes, will compete with native flowers for moisture, the desert must remain dry enough prior to the bloom to keep them from becoming established. The desert must receive rainfall in the autumn, and this rain must penetrate deep into the soil matrix in order to reach a majority of the dormant seeds of flowering plants. If subsequent rainfall is excessive or inundating, the young plants may be carried away in flash floods; if it is inadequate, the seeds will die from dehydration.

Next, the ground in which the seeds lie must warm slowly over the several months which follow the first soaking rain, and the desert must have enough cloud cover both to shield the soil from intense daytime desert heat and to insulate it from overnight freezing temperatures. Finally, once the newly germinated plants have reached the surface of the soil, the desert must remain undisturbed by strong winds which would uproot the plants or damage the young shoots. The rare concatenation of these events is what makes a superbloom such an extraordinary occurrence.{{cite book|author=Roger W. Thompson|title=We Stood Upon Stars: Finding God in Lost Places|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIqVDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA160|year=2017|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-60142-959-9|page=160}}

In California, superblooms typically occur once every ten years or so. This has happened less often since the beginning of the 21st century due to persistent state drought. Anza-Borrego Park and Carrizo Plain National Monument are some of the most popular places to witness a superbloom, and the bloom of 2019 was particularly abundant. This followed another only two years prior, in 2017.{{cite web|work=VOANews|title=Rain Brings Second California Super Bloom in Two Years|author=Alice Bryant|date=March 11, 2019|url=https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/rain-brings-second-california-super-bloom-in-two-years/4820722.html}}

File:Superbloom at Carrizo 2017.jpg in 2017]] In the Mojave Desert of southeastern California, common plant species which compose the superblooms are brittlebushes (Encelia farinosa) (yellow flowers),{{cite book|author1=Sara Combs|author2=Rich Combs|title=At Home in Joshua Tree: A Field Guide to Desert Living|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJpKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT181|date=October 23, 2018|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-9166-7|page=181}} California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) (bright orange),{{cite web | title=Superbloom of California poppies put the gold in Golden State | website=The Mercury News | date=March 6, 2019 | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/06/superbloom-of-california-poppies-put-the-gold-in-golden-state/ | access-date=March 25, 2019}} desert bluebells (Phacelia campanularia) (deep purple), lupines (purple), sand verbena (Abronia) (yellow), desert sunflowers (Geraea canescens) (bright yellow), evening primroses (Camissonia brevipes) (mostly white, occasionally yellow), popcorn flowers (Plagiobothrys) (white or yellow), and desert lilies (Hesperocallis) (white).{{cite web | last=Trott | first=Sarah | title=What to know before heading out to see the Superbloom | website=KESQ | date=February 26, 2019 | url=https://www.kesq.com/news/what-to-know-before-heading-out-to-see-the-superbloom/1042110831 | access-date=March 25, 2019}}{{cite web|work=KTLA|title=Here's How to Take in the Impressive Wildflower Blooms Popping up Across Southern California|author=Erika Martin|date=March 5, 2019|url=https://ktla.com/2019/03/05/heres-how-to-take-in-the-impressive-wildflower-blooms-popping-up-across-southern-california/}}{{cite web | title=California Super Bloom: Everything You Need to Know | website=MK Library | date=March 22, 2021 | url=https://www.mklibrary.com/california-super-bloom/ | access-date=February 23, 2022}} Several of these plants are also invasive, such as wild mustard.{{cite web | title=Where to See a 'Super Bloom' in the Bay Area | website=KQED | date=March 19, 2019 | url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11733926/where-to-see-a-superbloom-in-the-bay-area | access-date=March 25, 2019}}

At Carrizo Plain in California, different annual plant species compose color patches of the hills (Temblor Range and Caliente Range) and the valley floor (Soda Lake). Dominant color patches of hills are bright yellow (Monolopia lanceolata, Caulanthus inflatus), purple (Phacelia tanacetifolia), magenta/dark pink (Castilleja exserta), and orange (Eschscholzia californica, Mentzelia pectinata). Dominant color patches of the valley floor are golden yellow (Monolopia stricta, Leptosyne calliopsidea), pale yellow (Layia munzii), purple (Phacelia ciliata), and light pink (Streptanthus anceps). {{cn|date=August 2023}}

Superblooms increase public awareness of California's rural Federal public lands and the state's rich floristic diversity. It can also have a positive, although brief, effect on the local rural economy. Too much public visitation in such a short time period, however, can have negative impacts. In 2019, massive traffic jams prompted Lake Elsinore, California to shut down access to Walker Canyon, a major access route for viewing the superbloom. Dense concentrations of visitors walking off-trail can cause damage or uproot the plants.

The 2023 California super bloom followed a few months of wetter than average weather. The superbloom phenomenon was large enough to be seen from space by NASA's Landsat 9 satellite and has attracted many visitors.{{Cite web |title=California's superbloom is so big and bright, it can be seen from space |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/californias-superbloom-seen-from-space-nasa-2023-satellite-images-bright-carrizo-plain-national-park/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

File:Algal bloom(akasio) by Noctiluca in Nagasaki.jpg

Because algae often reproduce in large sporadic bouts, referred to as algal blooms, the term "superbloom" is sometimes applied to especially prolific short-term algal growth that causes discoloration of water on a large scale.{{cite book|author=Indian River Lagoon 2011 Consortium|title=The Superbloom: Evaluating Effects and Possible Causes with Available Data|date=April 2015|url= http://www.irlcouncil.com/uploads/7/9/2/7/79276172/24._2011superbloomreport_april2015.pdf}}{{cite book|author=Steven Johnson|title=Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfxtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|year=2018|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-59448-821-4|page=47}} Other than sharing a botanical context, however, the two events have nothing in common.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Comedian Darryl Lenox named his 2021 album Super Bloom after the botanical phenomenon.{{cite web |url=https://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/darryl-lenox-blind-ambition/ |title=Darryl Lenox: Blind Ambition |last= Thomson |first=John |date=November 25, 2022 |website=Inspired Magazine |publisher= |access-date=2023-08-25}}

• Desert bloom

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|last=Canon|first=Gabrielle|work=The Guardian|title=The vigilante shaming influencers for bad behavior in national parks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/09/influencers-national-parks-public-lands-hate-you|date=April 9, 2019|access-date=21 April 2019}}

{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/18/super-bloom-lake-elsinore-poppies-flowers|title=#Superbloom or #poppynightmare? Selfie chaos forces canyon closure|date=18 March 2019|last=Gammon|first=Katharine|access-date=20 April 2019}}

{{cite news|newspaper=LA Times|last=Reyes-Velarde|first=Alejandra|title=Instagram-hungry crowds are destroying the super bloom|date=14 March 2019|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-superbloom-lake-elsinore-20190314-story.html|access-date=20 April 2019}}

}}

>

Category:Natural history of California

>

>

>

>

>

Category:Algal blooms

Category:Phenomena