Natural History Wanderings

Updated with more detailed plant list

Yesterday it took us over three hours to do the .7 of mile Mary Bowerman Trail near the top of Mt. Diablo. It had many flowers in bloom and was most inviting for photography (except for the wind in sections). A friend had recently found three species of Calochortus and also Lewisia in bloom a few days earlier. We didn’t find the Lewisia and saw only two Calochortus species but had a good time all the same. Highlights were the Mt. Diablo Fairy Lantern, Mariposa Tulips, Common Broom-rape, Whispering Bells, Red Larkspur, Wind Poppy and Chinese Houses.

I was mainly focused on photographing and looking at the flowers but did see and hear a few birds. The best sighting was a Hermit Warbler, which I had also seen two days earlier with the birding class in Mitchell Canyon.

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Flower List

Varicolored Penstemon Penstemon heterophyllus

Wooly Sunflower Eriophyllum lanatum

Yarrow Achillea millefollium

Blue Elderberry Sambucuc mexicana

Pipe-stem or Old Man’s Beard Clematis lasiantha

Pitcher Sage Lepechinia calycina

Chia Salvia columbariae

Common Broom-rape Orobanche fasciculata

Whispering Bells Emmenanther penduliflora

Suncups (tiny) Camissonia sp.

California Everlasting Pseudognaphalium californicum

California Bee Plant Scrophularia californica

Narrow-leaf Sunflower Ericameria linearifolia (mostly finished blooming)

Mt. Diablo Fairy Lantern Calochortus pulchellus

Morning Glory (species not identified)

Coffeeberry Rhamnus californica (about to flower)

a light pink large thistle (unidentified)

Blow Wives Arhyrachaena mollis

Mariposa Tulip Calochortus venustus

Coyote Mint Monardella villosa

Colchita Lotus humistrarus

Common Dudleya Dudleya cymosa

Sulfur Buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum

Fern Phacelia Phaclia Distans

Sickle-leaved Onion Allium falcifolium

a pink Vetch or Pea (not identified)

Elegant Clarkia Clarkia unguiculata

Wind Poppy Stylomecon heterophylla

Coast Arnica Arnica discoidea

Mountain Violet Viola purpurea

Zauschneria Epilobium canum

Pink Spineflower Chorizanthe membranace

Blue Dicks Dichelostemma capitatum

Spring Beauty or Coast Range Montia Claytonia gypsophiloides

Woodland Star Lithphragma heterophylla

Red Larkspur Delphinium nudicaule

Seen on road driving up:

California Poppy Eschscholzia californica

Bush Monkeyflower Diplacus aurantiacus

Chamise (in flower) Adenostoma fasciculatum

Bird List

California Quail

Scrub Jay

Wrentit

Bushtit

Lesser Goldfinch ?

Tree Swallows ?

Hermit Warbler

Raven

Spotted Towhee