Natural History Wanderings

Where to photograph in California – Yahoo Groups(Calphoto) has a new report for Sherman Pass which is the northernmost pass over the Sierra Nevada before TiogaPass. Below are some of the highlights

I was there a few days ago, and found about thirty species in bloom. Some
were common, but some were interesting:

Allium peninsulare (Peninsular onion)
Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow)
Erigeron glacialis (Wandering fleabane)
Helenium bigelovii (Bigelow’s sneezeweed)
Hymenoxys hoopesii (Owl’s claws)
Orochaenactis thysanocarpha (Mountain pincushion)
Taraxacum officinale (Common dandelion)
Hackelia mundula (Pink stickseed)

Mertensia ciliata (Streamside bluebells)
Barbarea orthoceras (American wintercress)
Sarcodes sanguinea (Snow plant)
Lupinus polyphyllus (Large leaved lupine)
Geranium californicum (California geranium)
Juncus nevadensis (Sierra rush)
Fritillaria pinetorum (Pine woods fritillary)
Sidalcea ranunculacea (Marsh checkerbloom)
Castilleja miniata (Scarlet paintbrush)
Mimulus guttatus (Common monkeyflower)
Collinsia parviflora (Maiden blue eyed mary)
Penstemon heterodoxus (Sierra beardtongue)
Penstemon incertus (Mojave beardtongue)
Ipomopsis aggregata (Scarlet gilia)
Bistorta bistortoides (American bistort)
Primula tetranda (Alpine shooting star)
Aquilegia formosa (Crimson columbine)
Delphinium gracilentum (Meadow larkspur)
Ranunculus alismifolius (Water plantain buttercup)
Drymocallis glandulosa (Sticky cinquefoil)
Horkeliella purpurascens (Purple false horkelia)

There are also lots of corn lily (Veratrum californicum) in these seep areas but they’re nowhere near blooming, and indeed haven’t put out any significant blooms since 2011, when they were growing over six feet tall and exploding with
flowers.

See full report and other new reports at Where to photograph in California – Yahoo Groups(Calphoto)