Natural History Wanderings

Theodore Payne just published their last 2012 wildflower report for southern California.  Here are some of the highlights.

Santa Monica Mountains: The Grotto Trail at Circle X Ranch the late rains nudged many of the perennial shrubs into passing through a second bloom. Yellows are the colors of note right now spearheaded by the sunflowers (Helianthus sp.), bush monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) and the golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum). Other highlights include both greenbark (Ceanothus spinosus), and bigpod ceanothus (Ceanothus megacarpus) and yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei). The colorful standards of coastal sage scrub habitat are looking nice as well—deerweed (Acmispon glabra), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea), yellow monkey flower (Mimulus sp.), black sage (Salvia mellifera), a few chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), California everlasting (Pseudognaphalium sp.), elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), heart-leaved penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia), caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria), California wild rose (Rosa californica), lance-leaved dudleya (Dudleya lanceolata), sticky tarplant (Centromadia sp.), woolly blue curls (Trichostema lanatum), Catalina mariposa lilies (Calochortus catalinae), golden stars (Bloomeria crocea), cliff aster (Malacothrix saxatile), and a nice display of humming bird sage (Salvia spathaceae) are all looking pretty spectacular.

Placerita Canyon Natural Area. best wildflower viewing this week … on the Canyon Trail. Despite the lack of rain, it was a pretty good year for wildflowers at Placerita. The rain was spread out over the winter and spring which helped along the perennial shrubs which you can enjoy while hiking. Sticky leaf monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus), California everlasting (Pseudognaphalium sp.), heart leaf penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia), and California rose (Rosa californica) are very showy now. Bush poppy (Dendromecon rigida) is fading just as, farewell-to- spring (Clarkia sp.), wooly blue curls (Trichostema lanatum), and yuccas (Hesperoyucca whipplei) are starting to peak. The butterfly Mariposa lilies (Calochortus sp.) and caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria) are spotted about where annulas like to hang out. The honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.), chamise (Adenostema fasciculata), Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon sp.), black sage (Salvia mellifera), purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) and elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea) are boldly showing their colors as well.

San Jacinto Mountains: Cedar Spings Trail from Garner Valley up to the desert divide overlook  The trailhead area has two lovely penstemons in full bloom, (Penstemon centranthifolius) and Penstemon spectabilis). Much of the trail is covered by golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) in full bloom. The golden yarrow and penstemons produce spectacular colorful displays together. Other species that are noteworthy include spearleaf mountain dandelion (Agoseris retrorsa), both in bloom and in beautiful puff-ball fruit, lots of California cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. californicum), chaparral false bindweed (Calystegia occidentalis var. fulcrata), desert Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon crassifolium), apricot mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), white margined oxytheca (Oxytheca emarginata), Parry’s larkspur (Delphinium parryi), Coulter’s snapdragon (Antirrhinum coulterianum), wavy leaf paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei), wide-throated monkeyflower (Mimulus brevipes), and the spectacular Munz’s mariposa lily (Calochortus palmeri var. munzii). The PCTsouth of the top of the Cedar Springs Trail has the following species in full bloom, each with many plants: mountain bush lupine (Lupinus excubitus var. austromontanus), Mojave sandwort (Arenaria macradenia), mountain phlox (Phlox austromontana), Palmer’s ceanothus (Ceanothus palmeri), and pumice alpinegold (Hulsea vestita var. callicarpha).

Trabuco Canyon in Orange County. the splendid mariposa lily (Calochortus splendens) is still in flower in the foothills…In the same place, often side-by-side with Calochortus splendens, is the pretty little Weed’s mariposa lily (Calochortus weedii var. intermedius) just beginning to flower. Native grasslands actually had a good year in some places. Purple needle grass (Stipa pulchra) and foothill needle grass (Stipa lepida) both flowered abundantly and are still in flower in some moister grasslands. The winecup clarkia (Clarkia purpurea) is now coming into bloom in those grasslands as well.

 

To see the full report, photos and older reports go to: http://www.theodorepayne.org/hotline.html