Wildflower Wednesdays – Wandering in the White Tanks

Waddell, Arizona

Just north of our home here in Buckeye, Arizona, lay the White Tank Mountains. In 1961, the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, almost 30,000 acres in the heart of the range became Maricopa County’s largest park. Open year round with only five paid staff and a host of unpaid volunteers, the miles of hiking trails, picnic ramadas and other park facilities invite guests from all over the world.

A globe mallow bud is almost ready to open.

In the spring, especially when rains have been plentiful, as was the case this year, wildflowers cover the desert landscape. On Wednesdays in the months of February and March, 2015, a volunteer leads a hike on the most promising trails providing information on plants with a focus on available wild flowers.

In the spring, large areas of tiny white flowers known as comb seed proliferate.

The first week of the hike didn’t provide many flowers for us to view, but we learned a lot about many of the plants found in the park, and over the next few weeks we will be able to spot and identify plants as they start to bloom during the short spring wildflower season. This week, Lynn and I are traveling, gathering more images to share. In the meantime, I submit for your approval, a gallery of images taken on our first wildflower hike in 2015. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

The iconic saguaro is often found in the shade of a nearby tree, in this case, an ironwood.

In the washes, conglomerates composed of rocks held together by a sand or mud chemical mixture are common.

Petroglyphs created by ancient residents of the area are common on the rock outcroppings in the White Tanks.

Two commonly found tiny spring flowers are the yellow fiddleneck and purple fillery blossoms.

Looking toward the south edge of the White Tank Mountain Range at dusk from an I-10 off-ramp.

The White Tank Regional Park has a busy schedule of events open to the general public. You can check the current schedule at the park’s web page here. If you get the chance, one of the most interesting and enjoyable hikes is the night moonlight hike typically held twice a month on full moon nights. One hike is for families, including the family dog; the other hike is open to adults only.

John Steiner