Natural History Wanderings

Over at the Placerita Canyon Natural Area, wildflowers are nowhere to be found, but the shrubby chaparral species are in bloom. The center’s Ecology Trail leading from the Nature Center is the place to see the hoary-leaf Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon crassifolium), black sage (Salvia mellifera), and elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea).Tucked under these shrubs is the California peony (Paeonia californica) and scrambling over the shrub canopy is the wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpa).

Heading south along the California coast, be sure to visit the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach.  The trails that take you through the chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities offer up the red fuchsia-flowering gooseberry (Ribes speciosum) and the pink chaparral currant (Ribes malvaceum), as well as the fragrant Catalina currant (Ribes viburnifolium). Enjoy many of the Ceanothus species, splendid in different hues of blue. Swaths of California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)  are showy in open sunny areas and patches of baby-blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii) in the grassland area.

We’ve been informed not to expect many wildflowers in Death Valley this spring. Wet winter storms are necessary for a good bloom in the desert, and the 2013-14 winter season has been very dry. The rain that fell this last weekend should give a boost to flowers that have already sprouted, but it is too late for many new seedlings to succeed. Spotty rainstorms last autumn however did cause some annuals to appear in the southern extreme of Death Valley. Look for areas of roadside flowers around Jubilee Pass on the southern Badwater Road. Along the Harry Wade Road, Ibex Dunes and Saratoga Springs, there are slopes and washes with scattered patches of flowers. Although there is good variety, the plants in these locations are blooming while still small. In the Emigrant Canyon / Towne Pass area watch for wildflowers that tend to be much larger and more robust than those down south, but they are appearing as individuals instead of patches.

Hiking the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, from the Mishe Mokwa trailhead at Circle X Ranch to Encinal Road treats you to some amazing vistas. The effects of the drought continue to be very evident. The list of flowers is very short. The chaparral currant (Ribes malvaceum) is flowering, with wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpa) climbing up over their canopies. Look for the hardy deer weed (Acmispon glabra), slender sunflower (Helianthus gracilentus), coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), telegraph weed (Heterotheca grandiflora), and a couple of species of everlasting (Pseudognaphalium spp.)

To see photos and download the full current or older reports go to: Theodore Payne Foundation Wildflower Hotline