What Did I See?

Early spring wildflowers along the River Road.

NPS/CA Hoyt

A Word About Wildflowers

In Big Bend National Park, our "spring" can begin as early as February. Mild temperatures continue through March and sometimes April. If we've had rain in the winter, we may have a spectacular wildflower bloom in early spring. Even without rain, you'll see the reliable spring bloomers such as yuccas, ocotillo, bicolor mustard, and bluebonnets.

Summer, with its relentless high temperatures, begins in May and can extend through September. The advent of the summer monsoons in July brings a little relief for both humans and plants. Afternoon rainstorms kick off a growth spurt that leaves the desert green and the flowers in bloom.

Color Guides

With over 1200 species of plants, we can't show you everything, but here are some quick guides to get you started identifying the flowers that you see in the park.

 

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  White to Green Flowers

  Guide to common white wildflowers.

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  Yellow to Orange Flowers

  Guide to yellow and orange wildflowers.

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  Purple to Blue Flowers

  Guide to purple through blue wildflowers.

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  Red to Brown Wildflowers

  Guide to pink, red, and brown wildflowers.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Big Bend National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

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Species attribute definitions

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