California's desert wildflower explosion draws record crowds

(AP) — An explosion of wildflowers in California's desert sands is drawing record crowds to see the rare abundance of color called a "super bloom."

The state park is California's largest, with hundreds of species of plants including desert lilies, blazing stars and the flaming tall, spiny Ocotillo.

Wildflower enthusiasts worldwide track the blooms online and arrive for rare sightings like this year's Bigelow's Monkey flower, some of which have grown to 8 inches (203 millimeters) in height.

On a recent day, a young woman sat among knee-high desert sunflowers and shot selfies against the backdrop of yellow blooms that looked almost neon in contrast to the brown landscape.

Park staff, volunteers and female prisoners have been removing the Sahara Mustard plant, an invasive species believed brought to California in the 1920s with another plant, the date palm.

Sahara Mustard had been covering popular wildflower areas, said Jim Dice, research manager at the Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center.