Natural History Wanderings

Submitted by Kathy Sanders  Interpretive Assistant  Hungry Valley SVRA

Hungry Valley: Due to a recent snow storm on Wednesday evening (April 21) many of the wildflowers in the park are in need of a few days of warm weather to recover. We are still anticipating some more blooms in the area once the weather becomes warmer. As of today, there are California Coreopsis (Coreopsis California) and California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) blooming on one south facing slope along Powerline Road in the south grassland area along with a variety of other wildflowers including: Tidy Tips (Layia playglossa), Davy Gilia (Gilia latiflora), Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata), Pygmy-leafed Lupine (Lupinus bicolor), and Blazing Stars (Mentzelia albicaulis).

The Gorman Hills along the I-5 freeway also received some snow fall, but should recover and also continue to bloom once the temperature begins to rise. The hills are still showing large patches of California Coreopsis ((Coreopsis California) and Globe Gilia (Gilia capitata), along with some Lupine and California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica).