Blog

Delairea odorata

Published on by Hashi1 Comment

I hiked up to Parker Mesa Overlook from Los Liones yesterday. I‘ve only been to the overlook once before, on Nov 9, 1997 (according to my hiking book). My friend David and I did a sunset/night hike that evening, and we saw a rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force (now “Space Force”) base. We actually didn’t know wtf we were seeing, but we read about it next day in the news. It looked like a massive translucent zeppelin. Amazing sight!

Delairea odorata is a perennial vine (family Asteraceae) native to South Africa. It is problematic in some of our coastal riparian areas, moist forests, and oak woodlands. The vines form dense mats of vegetation over trees and shrubs, killing plants underneath. It is toxic to animals and fish can be killed when plant materials are soaking in waterways. Unfortunately, it’s completely taken over Los Liones Canyon within Topanga State Park.

phantom trail

Published on by Hashi1 Comment

We hiked a new-to-us trail in Malibu Creek State Park, steep and almost overgrown in parts. It’s unclear why it’s called Phantom, except perhaps that hardly anyone goes there? We didn’t encounter any ghosts, but we did see some out-of-season wildflowers in the wetter areas to the north of the ridge.

Actias luna

Published on by HashiLeave a comment

This honking big moth is found in eastern North America, from Florida to Maine in the U.S., and from Saskatchewan eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada. It is also found across Mexico; it is considered threatened there, due to habitat loss.

The moth has lime-green wings and a white body. Its typical wingspan is roughly 114 mm (4.5″), but wingspans can exceed 178 mm (7″), ranking the species as one of the larger moths in North America. I’d love to see one in the wild!