Was there a photo included in the email? I couldn’t find it. Val Myrick,
Sonora, CA

pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

Interstate 10 in eastern California, west of Blythe. There are hundreds of
thousands of plants in synchronous flowering. Ford Dry Lake is north of the
highway in this map view:

Angeles and Phoenix. It is about 3-4 hours from Los Angeles and 2 1/2 from
Phoenix. The Beehive Ditch, crossed by I-10 and signed, was approximately
the center of the population. There is a sign for an exit to Ford Dry Lake
for hiking. It would be an easy day trip this weekend for people in metro
southern California or Phoenix.

to the dry lake to the north. The plants are growing all along this slope.
There are fewer on the south (higher) side of the highway; quite a few in
the very wide median between the northbound and southbound lanes; and a
very large number to the south of the highway, growing as far as my vision
permitted me to see. I did not stop so I don't know how close they grow to
the salty dry lakebed. In some areas the plants are separated by 2-3 meters
in either direction, and in other areas there are at least 10 plants in an
area of about 3 square meters. I would estimate there are hundreds of
thousands of plants flowering, maybe more if the plants grow all around the
dry lake.

east, the population gradually thinned out, but to the west, the terrain
rises, and the plants stopped abruptly.

spiral, rising from a sparse rosette of narrow, smallish, grayish green,
thick and wavy leaves. They appeared to be close to a meter tall. Most
plants had one inflorescence, but many had 2, 3 or even 4 inflorescences.
All seemed to be at the same stage of flowering. The bottom few flowers had
finished and the next rank of flowers above this was open. I don't know how
long an inflorescence of this lasts, but they probably opened within the
last few days to one week.

years, at all seasons. I have never seen even one spike of this plant here.
I didn't even know it is here. In Arizona it occurs sporadically in desert
washes, or immediately adjacent to them. There are rarely more than a dozen
plants in one area. The vast number of plants was an immense surprise.

general flower display was even better. But there were no Hesperocallis
last year. There are trails at Ford Dry Lake, and a weather station visible
from the highway. I will try to look up the weather data. I wanted to post
this as soon as possible.

get near freezing in winter. Rain is sparse on average and very erratic,
mostly falling in winter. Summer rain is rare but can be torrential. A few
years back the eastbound bridge over the Tex Wash just west of here was
washed out during a summer thunderstorm, causing severe traffic problems
for months.

opportunity to get data for papers on pollinator studies, flower studies,
and a chance to return over the next few weeks to study seed development. I
don't think much is known about the pollinators of this plant.

sources to sprout this plant, always unsuccessfully. If the plants flower
now, the seed will ripen during a very hot time of year. The seed is flat
and black, like many Agave, Albuca, Hippeastrum and Yucca. There may not be
any rain this summer, and even if there is, it will be sparse, and
evaporate rapidly. When do these seeds sprout? There is little chance of
plentiful water until next winter. Do they lie on the surface of the soil
until then? Or do seeds expect a fair amount of summer water? Is this an
ancient population stranded as the climate warmed and dried? The Sonoran
Desert has had repeated warming and cooling cycles since the last Ice Age,
with regions alternating between hot, dry desert and cooler, moister
juniper savannah. However, now this plant is only found in the low desert.

habitat, spike inflorescence, succulent gray-green sessile white
short-tubed flower, and rosette of succulent long leaves, I wonder whether
it's really an Agave?

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