Maturango Museum Elaine Wiley– Every spring the Maturango Museum hosts the annual Wildflower Exhibit during which visitors can see the wide variety and abundance of wildflowers that grow in the Indian Wells Valley and surrounding canyons. Collectors with the proper BLM permits spend multiple days gathering the wildflowers which are placed into bottles or vases and then set on tables according to their family. This allows visitors to have a close-up view of the many wildflowers from this area – all in one room!
The exhibit features annuals and flowering shrubs – from the tiny white cryptantha (forget-me-nots) to the bright and showy coreopsis (bright yellow wildflower) and to the common desert shrub, the creosote bush. Each species is identified by a group of professional botanists and labeled with its common and scientific name.
In addition to seeing the wildflowers, the Maturango Museum has two speakers for this year.
On Saturday, April 1 at 3 pm, Nina House will present “A Vascular Flora of the Manter and Salmon Creek Watersheds in the Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, CA”.
On Sunday, April 2, at 3 pm, Glenn Harris will give his presentation on “The Changing Floristic Landscape Through Time”.
As in past years, local artists from the Desert Artist League will be drawing and painting selected wildflowers throughout the weekend.
With the winter rains, this spring promises a colorful and fragrant display of wildflowers for this exhibit.
