Natural History Wanderings

Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area just published a new wildflower report for 5/10/11.  They have a new posting for the Pentachaeta Trail in Triunfo Canyon Park .  Below is the report:

 “The Pentachaeta Trail is located at the end of Triunfo Canyon Road at Lindero Canyon Road.  The trail was delightfully blooming with flowers.  There was a few large patches of Pentachaeta fairly close to the trailhead.  We also saw elderberry, California poppy, elegant clarkia, yarrow, foothill penstemon, mulefat, hollyleaf redberry, black mustard, curly dock, California everlasting, chamise, Italian thistle, purple nightshade, gooseberry fuschia, milk thistle, sweet yellow clover, pineapple plant, blue eyed grass, yucca, blue dicks, purple sage, woolly blue curls, and lupine.  We went up a small trail to the right and saw creek monkey flower and globe lily.  The trail went into a dry creek and was so overgrown we went back onto the main trail, but were glad for the detour to see both of these flowers.  Back on the mail trail we saw black sage, mint leaf verbena, scarlet pimpernel, sticky monkey flower, golden stars (just a couple of almost dead ones).  Then we happened upon a gopher snake in the middle of the trail.  It looked at us for a few minutes and then slithered back into the grass.  Continuing on we saw deerweed, caterpillar phacelia, English plantain, and sugarbush.  We ventured up another small trail and encountered miner’s lettuce, virgin’s bower and some honeysuckle growing on a scrub oak tree.  It was a great hike!.  – Fred and Nellie”

Go to their website to see all of their reports: http://www.researchlearningcenter.org/bloom/