This week in the PerpJo—according to Milt McCauley (Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains), two species of the Broomrape family are native to the SMM, but very rare. Clustered broomrape (Aphyllon franciscanum) is found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. It has fleshy stems 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) high, covered with soft hairs, and bell-shaped flowers 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm) long. Broomrape is parasitic on the roots of other plants like chamise, sagebrush and buckwheat.
Big thanks to Annette for spotting this rarity. Actually, she also spied the horned lizard this week last year. I’ll have to be sure to hike with her in week 16 next year too. Who knows what she will find for us then!
Spotted this handsome striped reptile out on the trail. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) is endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats, including woodland chaparral, grassland, deserts, marshes, and even suburban areas. It is non-venomous, and kills its prey by constriction.
Wild California kingsnakes are typically encountered at a length of 2.5-3.5 feet (76 – 107cm), though they can grow larger. This one was smaller, maybe 18 inches / 45cm long.
This guy was poking his head out of the long grass as I went by. I hope he’s living up to his name and eating lots of gophers!
During the rains we had a surprise visitor, a blind snake! It’s our first time seeing this earthworm-looking reptile. Rena humilis is found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It lives underground, sometimes as deep as 20 metres (66 ft). Having no need for vision, its eyes are vestigial, just two light-detecting black spots. The skull is thick to permit burrowing.
Its diet is made up mostly of insects and their larvae and eggs. It is found in deserts and scrub where the soil is loose enough to work, so I’m not sure what it was doing in our living room! I moved it outside, and noticed that my hands smelled like mushrooms afterwards. Very earthy.
This was the second little snake in our empty pool before Hurricane Hilary blew into town. Two new-to-us reptiles in one night! Very cool.
Yesterday was our annual brush-clearing day. Sadly, the labourers did not share our respect for rattlesnakes.
I asked my herpetologist buddy about this pulsing behaviour, and he said he had observed it in several species, including gopher snakes. No good theory on why they do it. He added that there’s a ton we don’t know about snake behaviour.
K was exercising in the living room, when he suddenly yelped. It seemed he had somehow squashed a side-blotched lizard. Sad for the lizard, but good for me! If I get the opportunity to closely examine a critter, I’ll take it.
This little guy is named for the dark blue smear behind the front legs. More impressive is the iridescent turquoise speckling on the back.
With our local lizards having such variable colouration, telling them apart is more about shape and behaviour than it is about colour or patterns. Our most commonly-seen reptile is the western fence lizard, who loves to bask in the sun, gripping with long toes or doing pushups. Alligator lizards are seen less frequently. They have long, slightly prehensile tails and a snake-like way of slithering. Now that I’ve journaled the differences, I don’t think I’ll ever get them confused.
hashiworks 