Another beautiful day in the Santa Monica Mountains.
BB12
Tag: santa monica mountains
Eriodictyon crassifolium
Yerba santa (“holy herb”) is a hairy perennial shrub that‘s found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, most often at higher elevations. The very aromatic leaves are lance-ovate to oval, 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) long, with a scalloped margin. Soft woolly hairs grow on both sides. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat respiratory infections. I don’t often hike in the highest parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, so it was a treat to get up there and encounter this plant growing in profusion along the trail yesterday.
Backbone #10
Lovely day out on the trails. Still plenty of water in the creeks and waterfalls, and the wildflowers are really starting to pop. Feeling very grateful to live in these beautiful mountains.
Urtica
While gingerly investigating the nettle, I managed to get stung under my chin. The perils of nature journaling!
Charmlee
Our sixth nature journal club meetup was our biggest and (arguably) best yet! Certainly our best lunch spread—we are totally rocking the picnic buffet. Seventeen of us enjoyed perfect winter weather (70° and sunny) at charming Charmlee Wilderness Park in western Malibu. Such a joy.
Backbone #7
Section 7 is in the books. Most of this trail was new to us, and we enjoyed it a lot. The steep uphill sections and exposed ridge might not be fun on a hot summer today, but right now they’re just lovely.
Cardamine californica
This week in the perpetual journal. Milkmaids are one of the earliest wildflowers to appear on the shady banks and slopes of our local oak and riparian woodlands. They are in the Brassicaceae family.
Backbone #6
Easy section this time, in one of my favourite parts of Malibu Creek State Park. It was fun to see thousands of acorns sprouting on the forest floor, even knowing that only the slimmest fraction of them will grow into trees.
Schizophyllum
The widespread Schizophyllum genus contains six wood-rotting species. Schizophyllum mycelium only needs to generate one set of fruiting bodies per year. Unlike some mushroom species, split gill fungi have the ability to dry out and rehydrate, allowing them to open and close numerous times throughout a growing season. This is an excellent adaptation for climates with sporadic rainfall, and surely contributes to their success.
Backbone #5
The Backbone adventure proceeds apace. Five sections down, eight to go. This section is particularly enjoyable, with spectacular rock formations and awesome views. And, at this time of year, lots of fungi!
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