Natural History Wanderings

The Plumas County Bloom Blog has a new wildflower report for the Boyle Ravine area

Boyle Ravine and vicinity is getting more interesting every day. Especially the small, delicate flowers that are easy to miss on a walk, but are very intricate when viewed close up.

The Lemmon’s Catchfly is a case in point. It’s a member of the Pink family which includes carnations. Can you see the resemblance?

Then there’s the Fringe Cups, a saxifrage growing in the shade right next to Boyle Creek.

The Thimbleberry are in full bloom everywhere in dense patches, but I thought this “stand alone” was very photogenic.

The Interior Rose is common now in the ravine and is hosting many insect visitors including bees of course.

One of my favorites along the trail is the Spotted Coral Root, one of several wild orchids in our local forests.

The Prince’s Pine is in the same family as our Manzanita and Madrone.

The Sierra Nevada Pea, a species of Lathyrus like the larger and more common roadside peas.

The Naked Mariposa Lily, Calochortus nudus, hybridizes with other Mariposa Lilies and they all are known by several common names such as Star Tulip, Beaver Tail, Pussy Ears, etc. You can count on the technical name to refer to only one type of flower.

Last, for some ecological excitement, I thought I saw an upside-down butterfly on a Red Clover. Turns out I did. It was dead and was having its body fluids drained by a Goldenrod Crab Spider. I’ll be posting more technical information about all of these on my blog, Blackoaknaturalist.

To see photos and older post go to:  Bloom Blog Wildflowers.