Natural History Wanderings

Updated 6/4/11 

Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area just published a new wildflower report for 6/3/11.  They have new postings for the Circle X Ranch, Rocky Oaks, Cold Creek Canyon, Malibu Creek State Park and a Scenic Drive.  Below are the new reports:

Circle X Ranch     Sandstone Peak /Mishe Mokwa Loop     Date: 06/03/2011
“This was one of the most spectacular flower walks I’ve taken this season, which is a surprise because most flowers are usually done by June.  We parked in the Sandstone Peak Parking lot.  From the trailhead we could see flowering yucca, golden yarrow, deer weed, black sage and chamise.  Heading up the hill we encountered cliff aster, golden star lilies, woolly blue curls, bush lupine, sticky monkey flower, popcorn flower, farewell-to-spring, heart leaf penstemon, Chinese houses and purple nightshade.  There was rarely a stretch of trail that wasn’t bordered with banks of flowers.  Then we came upon the star of this hike, lovely yellow mariposas, we counted 65 on the loop. We encountered someone who said that she does the loop every week and that there had been none the week before. Continuing on past Sandstone Peak we saw lance leaf dudleya, virgin’s bower seed pods, blue dicks, purple clarkia, blue larkspur, globe gilia, owl’s clover, yellow pincushion, Turkish rugging and wild morning glory.  Another star of the walk was the lovely white pitcher sage which we started to see on the spur trail up to Sandstone Peak and then saw intermittently for the rest of the loop.  The meadow past Inspiration Point which hosts shooting stars in February was filled with wild brodiaea.  Heading down to Split Rock we saw cinquefoil.  Climbing back up to the trailhead we passed yellow monkey flower, Parry’s phacelia, and a few Catalina mariposas.  The scarlet larkspur were not out yet but looked like they would be coming soon.”  – Dorothy Steinicke

Scenic Drives     Date: 05/31/2011
“Along Mulholland Highway everything is lush and green, and there are many things in bloom, not nearly as spectacular as previous years, but this road is certainly a pleasant drive through the Santa Monica Mountains from Malibu Canyon all the way to Pacific Coast Highway.  Among the large shrubs and small trees in bloom are Chamise (white spiky blossoms),  Elderberry (creamy white rounded sprays of blooms), and sage (light purple flower spikes above grey leaves). You’ll see the tall yucca stalks topped with white flowers all over the hillsides.  Lower to the ground are the yellowish gold spikes of deerweed bushes, the golden yellow round blooms of yarrow and the rosy white blooms of California buckwheat.  Sheets of gold on steep rocky slopes are Sticky Monkeyflower.”  – Sheila Braden

Cold Creek Canyon     Stunt High Trail     Date: 05/30/2011
“From the parking on Stunt Rd. 1 mile in from Mulholland to the next Stunt Rd. crossing. Right at the parking area there is an overwhelming array of flowers. Purple sage are the predominant blooms but there is also flowering yucca, California buckwheat, greenbark ceanothus, deerweed, golden yarrow and chamise.  Heading down the trail there were great quantities of golden stars interspersed with blue eyed grass, soap plant lily, morning glory, purple nightshade, caterpillar phacelia and sticky monkey flower.  Once the trail runs alongside the creek elegant clarkia becomes the predominant flower.  It is mixed with canyon sunflower, wild rose and black sage.  Stream orchids are growing right in the creek and are bigger and more prevalent than I remember them being in previous years. Heading up into the chaparral there is lance leaf dudleya, purple clarkia and farewell-to-spring, there are still blue larkspur blooming as well as vervain, slender tarweed and woolly blue curls. heart leaf penstemon, Chinese houses and California live-forever.  At the very top, where the trail again meets Stunt Rd.  there is a large patch of scarlet larkspur mixed with large flower phacelia and cliff asters.”  – Dorothy Steinicke

Rocky Oaks     Misc. Trails      Date: 05/31/2011
“From the parking on Stunt Rd. 1 mile in from Mulholland to the next Stunt Rd. crossing. Right at the parking area there is an overwhelming array of flowers. Purple sage are the predominant blooms but there is also flowering yucca, California buckwheat, greenbark ceanothus, deerweed, golden yarrow and chamise.  Heading down the trail there were great quantities of golden stars interspersed with blue eyed grass, soap plant lily, morning glory, purple nightshade, caterpillar phacelia and sticky monkey flower.  Once the trail runs alongside the creek elegant clarkia becomes the predominant flower.  It is mixed with canyon sunflower, wild rose and black sage.  Stream orchids are growing right in the creek and are bigger and more prevalent than I remember them being in previous years. Heading up into the chaparral there is lance leaf dudleya, purple clarkia and farewell-to-spring, there are still blue larkspur blooming as well as vervain, slender tarweed and woolly blue curls. heart leaf penstemon, Chinese houses and California live-forever.  At the very top, where the trail again meets Stunt Rd.  there is a large patch of scarlet larkspur mixed with large flower phacelia and cliff asters.”  – Dorothy Steinicke

Malibu Creek State Park     Lost Cabin Trail     Date: 05/28/2011
“Saturday, May 28, was day chosen by the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council (SMMTC) to perform maintenance on the Lost Cabin Trail. By the time I had worked my way in about a mile I was convinced that the wildflower display rated an excellent, so on the return began to record the flowers seen. I started with yellow pincushion, yucca, chamise, deerweed, woolly blue-curls, stone crop, turkish rugging, ca buckwheat, yellow mariposa lily, foothill lupine, elegant clarkia, yellow star thistle, golden yarrow, blue larkspur, blue eyed grass, vervain, golden star, Spanish clover, Catalina mariposa lily, downy navarretia, speckled clarkia, foothill penstemon, Indian thistle, coffee berry, and red stem filaree. The above flowers were in considerable quantity.  Less frequent were shiny lomatium, a single white snapdragon, black sage, ca milkweed a little off the trail,  along with a chaparral honeysuckle. Near the Mash site and along the Crags Road to the west were collar lupine, poison hemlock, ca poppy, plantain, curly dock, collarless poppy, elderberry, popcorn flower, scarlet bugler.”  – Burt Elliot

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