Desert Lily, Anzo Borrego Desert, Borrego Springs CA

It is a year for Desert Lilies in the Anzo Borrego Desert. The Desert Lily, according to my sources, is not a Lily at all…though it certainly looks like one…but is more closely related to the Agave. It does not bloom every year. The bulbs are up to 2 feet underground and it takes a deep soaking rain, or a series of deep soaking rains, to trigger growth and bloom. This year the conditions must have been just right because they are locally abundant at the end of De Giorgio Road in Borrego Springs and up Henderson Canyon toward the mountains on the west. This is an unusually tall specimen. Most bloom when the plant is only inches tall, so the flowers are practically on the ground. Interestingly most of the Lilies on Di Giorgio Road were tall, and most of the Lilies off the western extension of Henderson Canyon were short. ?? You see lots of Sand Verbina and California Evening Primrose in the background, as well as rain moving in the Laguna Mountains.

Sony HX90V. 1/320th @ ISO 80 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.