Natural History Wanderings

submitted by Ter Sullivan

Returning this morning from a three-day wildflower trip of Monterey Penninsula, I felt it imperative to share the “megabloom” excitement from walking the six-mile perimeter loop in Point Lobos State Park. I’ve botanized there on and off for forty years and have never seen anything like it. Here’s a few “teaser” flowers for phytophiles who may want to take advantage of the displays in the next few days: Pretty face brodiaea, dwarf brodiaea, blue dicks, California cudweed, brass buttons, seaside daisy, golden yarrow, lizardtail, gum plant, coast tarplant, fiddleneck, sea rocket, sticky sand spurry, coast morning glory, bluff dudleya, Nuttall’s milk vetch, Pacific pea, deer lotus, bush lupine, sky lupine, stinging phacelia, blue-eyed grass, wood mint, white globe lily, narrow-leaf flax, checker bloom, sand verbena, California poppy, sea pink, blue blossom, California rose, California blackberry, seaside paintbrush, sticky monkeyflower, seepspring monkeyflower, bee plant. Many flowers are in massive and continuous displays. Especially stunning is to take the south spur trail that brings you close to the flocks of Brandt’s cormorants incubating their eggs all over the rocky exposures, and you’ll see at least five protected beaches where mother harbor seals have given birth to young who are now nursing. If you go for more than one day, be sure to hike the restored Asilomar State Park sea bluff trail that features continuous flowers.