Secret Trail has been on my to-hike list for a while. It’s got some really pretty parts, wending as it does through chaparral, oak woodland, grassland and riparian habitats before arriving at the dramatic rock formations in the upper reaches. I’d like to go back in spring to see all the purple sage in flower.
There are about 800 species in the Eucalyptus genus; correct identification can be tricky, as features may vary with genetics, environment and tree age. I’m making an educated guess* that the ones at Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills are manna/ribbon/white gums, native to south-eastern Australia.
One thing I find intriguing is the huge variation in gumnut (fruit) size from species to species, from 3mm to 60 or more mm wide. There’s no correspondence with the tree’s height; I wonder what factors determine this feature. These ones are definitely at the small end of the spectrum.
*Ref: Taller Eucalypts for Planting in Australia by Dean Nicolle
Lemonadeberry is native to these parts; we have a LOT growing on our block. It occurs in both chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities, enduring heat and windy conditions well.
The fruit are eaten by many birds, and the nectar feeds both birds and butterflies. The berries make a pleasingly tart snack if popped in the mouth right off the bush, and sucked for their juice. They can also be dried, then soaked in water and heated to make a kind of hot pink lemonade.
One of our three native larkspurs, this perennial member of the buttercup family blooms from May to July in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. I don’t see a lot of it, so it’s always a treat to find one of the tall displays of bright red flowers.
This week in the PerpJo: Humboldt’s Lily. We SMM hikers look forward to these all year, and exchange notes on where they are blooming. So nice to see some today!
A & I returned to the Backbone Trail after more than a month’s break, and hiked the penultimate and longest section. It was so pretty, especially between Tri-Peaks and Sycamore Canyon. We had Chamberlain Trail to ourselves; it seems that only thru-hikers go there, as it isn‘t a convenient loop or out-and-back hike. I’d like to return with my birding binoculars; I *think* I saw my first Phainopeplas.
Quick sketch after a loooong hike.
California native Heucheras, commonly referred to as Coral Bells or Alum Root, consist of about 15 different species and sub-species that grow naturally in a variety of habitats in elevations from less than 500 feet up to 10,000 feet. I’m not sure of the exact species growing in the King Gillette Ranch native garden, but it sure is pretty.
This week in the PerpJo … We have a local, native thistle, the cobwebby thistle Cirsium occidentale. The plant is widespread and fairly common across most of California; unlike many introduced thistles, this native species is not a troublesome weed.
What a handsome plant! The leaves are a soft grey-green. The flower head is somewhat spherical, covered in large phyllaries with very long, spreading spines which are heavily laced in fibers resembling cobwebs. The ones were saw today had gathered dew drops on the thin threads — so pretty! The crown on top was a dense head of crimson florets.
Wild cucumber is the first annual growth to appear with the winter rains, and it’s still going strong now, five months later, with fresh vines, flowers, and maturing fruit all festooning whatever they can scramble over. I cut a fruit open to see how the seeds are going; they are still very soft. When the fruit ripens, it will explode and spray the large, hard seeds out in all directions.
Marah macrocarpa has an unusual germination method. The initial shoot emerges from the seed and grows downward into the earth. This shoot then splits, one part swelling to form a tuber, while the second part grows back to the surface and becomes the vine. The large, hard tuberous root can reach several meters in length and weigh in excess of 100 kilograms, leading to one of the plant’s common names, manroot.
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