I've just returned from a trip to Chile's northern, mostly coastal area, where along with PBS members Gene Zielinski and Diane Whitehead, and Diane's partner Don, I enjoyed the full spate of the Desierto Florido, the legendary flowering that occurs after the rare years of good precipitation in the Atacama region. I'll try to prepare and post some photos for the PBS wiki over the next few months. I had been to the area in 2002, a "wet" year (and in a dry year four years ago), but about 3 weeks later than we went this year, so I saw some different species. The only significant genera that were going to flower later were Alstroemeria and Mutisia. We saw vast displays of Leucocoryne, Rhodophiala, Pasithea, and Zephyra, as well as lesser-known bulbous genera such as Oziroe (syn. Fortunatia) and Pabellonia. A special treat was Placea amoena, close to Rhodophiala. Though only three species of Alstroemeria were in flower, the closely related Leontochir ovallei was in full bloom at the base of a slope. Finding these plants was made much easier by the "Rutas y senderos" (roads and trails) booklet that accompanies the Zona Norte volume of the series "Flora nativa de valor ornamental" by Riedemann, Aldunate, and Teillier. If you can't find a copy, I made an English translation of just the Rutas booklet that I can e-mail. I took only 250 photos, but Diane and Gene took many more, and I hope they'll share them with PBS too. No photograph, however, could convey the experience of standing amid hills clothed in bands of pink, yellow, white, and pure blue, the millions of flowers bursting forth from bulbs or seeds that have probably lain dormant for nine years. As in the desert of southern California, even the annuals can be quite large plants at flowering, and many, especially the Nolana species, form spreading mats that enhances the colorful display. Some of the shrubs can flower in a dry year without leaves, but this year they have both flowers and leaves. The many cacti were mostly not quite in flower but were putting out ambitious new growth. If this note makes anybody get on a plane to Santiago tomorrow, I won't be surprised. This spectacle is something every plant lover should see at least once. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA