Natural History Wanderings

submitted by Doug Wirtz

Rockville Hills, Regional Park Rockville Trails and Jepson Prairie

Things have been very quiet in Solano County. The only places I’ve hiked with any significant bloom are Rockville Hills Regional Park and Rockville Trails. RT is the newest reserve in the Solano Land Trust holding and is across the street from Rockville Hills. Right now they are preparing to host guided hikes, which should comence soon. More open access is still being planned for next year but there’s a lot of work to do to make that happen. Rockville Hills has some early spring flowers. Milk maids, Indian Warrior, Buttercups, Popcorn flower, Small flowered Nemophila. Now starting to show Hound’s tongue, Scarlet fritillary, Mission bells, Amsinckia, wild pea, Castilleja, Blue dicks.

Rockville Trails has similar bloom, minus the fritillary and mission bells, with the addition of Chapparal Clematis, Sticky monkeyflower, goldfields, Nemophila menzesii var. menzesii and atomaria, Red maids, California saxifrage, Phacelia distans, Purple sanicle, Sanicula crassicaulis, Claytonia parviflora, Limnanthes douglasii, Amsinckia, Lupine, Biscuit root, Blue dicks, Henderson’s shooting star, Ascelpia cordifolia. Also observed were the rarely seen Nodding Harmonia and the basal leaves of the Streamside daisy Erigeron bioletti.

Jepson Prairie has only shown Blennosperma, Dodecatheon, a few goldfields, two varieties of popcorn flower, a few Golden violet just about covers it. The Prairie bells are starting to bloom (about a month later than normal). This may portend, if you’re a wishful (or should I use wistful) thinker, a delayed profusion of bloom. My fingers are crossed.

Related articles

• Jepson Prairie & Rockville Hills Wildflower Updates 3/7/13 & 3/8/13 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
• Jepson Prairie & Rockville Hills Wildflower Updates 2/25/13 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)