Tag: wildflowers

Solidago velutina

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It was fun to nature journal this plant at Charmlee Wilderness Park; it was alone beside the trail, with no siblings in sight. I didn’t know what it was called till I saw Suzanne later and she identified it from my sketch.

California Goldenrod (Solidago velutina ssp. californica) has a basal rosette of leaves that are still present at flowering time. The leaves get progressively smaller higher up on the stem. Each leaf has three prominent veins running from the base to near the tip. One plant can produce as many as 500 small yellow flower heads in a large, branching array at the top of the plant. The flowers remind me of goldenbush, and in fact both plants are in the Asteraceae family.

Paeonia californica

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Easy part of the Backbone Trail. Glad to see the native peonies emerging!

Paeonia californica, a perennial herbaceous plant reaching a height of 35–70 cm, undergoes subterranean retreat during the summer and reemerges with the onset of winter rains. Its flowering period primarily spans from January to March, followed by the development of two to five fruits per flower.

Indigenous to southwestern California and northern Baja California, California peonies thrive in dry hillsides within the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities. Frequently found as understory plants, they grow up to an elevation of 1500 m.

Deinandra minthornii

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I went on a Geology field trip with the California Native Plant Society. Besides learning a lot about our local rock formations, I was introduced to a federally endangered plant that I would have walked right past if I hadn’t been with native plant geeks. We have LOTS of tarweed growing in our mountains, but it’s the common annual type, Deinandra fasciculata. This one is a perennial woody shrub. Happy to have met it!

phantom trail

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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.

Sostomo->Deer Valley

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Annette and I have hiked to Tropical Terrace in Solstice Canyon many (many) times. But today was our first foray up the Sostomo Trail and around the Deer Valley Loop. We have declared it our new favourite hike. The creek crossings are delightful and the views from the top make the climb worthwhile.

We saw a hedge nettle (Stachys bullata) blooming out of season. What’s up with the common name? This member of the mint family neither grows in a hedge nor stings like a nettle. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Erigon foliosus

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There are quite a few plants in the Asteraceae family with the common name ‘fleabane’. It was once thought that these daisies would rid your house of fleas; this belief apparently now lives in the realm of ‘superstition.’

There aren’t many wildflowers around here at this time of year, so it’s even more enjoyable to see these delicate beauties. Erigeron foliosus is native to western North America from Oregon, through California, into Baja California. It can be found in many habitats, including chaparral, oak woodlands, and rocky talus.

Trichostema lanceolatum

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I’ve really enjoyed seeing, and smelling, the vinegarweed that‘s now running riot at the State Park. This annual herb, a member of the mint family, is native to California, though it occurs in other parts of the western U.S. Its preferred habitats are coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, foothill woodland, and chaparral.

The volatile oils in its foliage have a strong vinegar odour, which grazing animals find unpalatable but I quite enjoy sniffing.

Vinegarweed is an important late summer pollen source for native bees and other insects. When a pollinating insect lands on the lower lobes of the corolla, and inserts its mouth parts into the nectar-containing section, the narrow corolla portion above is straightened and snaps rapidly downward brushing pollen onto the insect’s back. Nature never ceases to amaze.

Epilobium canum

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This week in the PerpJo: Epilobium canum, also known as California fuchsia, hummingbird trumpet and firechalice, is a species of willowherb in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae). It’s a low-growing, spreading, perennial sub-shrub with grey-green leaves that are velvety to the touch. and a profusion of bright scarlet flowers in late summer and autumn. It is native to dry slopes and chaparral of western North America, especially California. It’s doing well at our place, and I’m happy to see that it‘s now flowering.

Eriogonum cinereum

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Ashyleaf buckwheat is one of my favourite chaparral plants, and I love that it grows natively here on our block. Also known as coastal buckwheat, it is endemic to the coastline of Southern California, primarily within Los Angeles County and Ventura County.

Eriogonum cinereum can reach from 0.6–1.25 m in height and width. Its foliage is a lovely pale turquoise/silvery grey colour. The leaves are wavy-edged and one to three centimeters long. The inflorescences stick out from the plant, each with several flower cluster heads of tiny tightly-packed frilly flowers which are usually pale pink in colour. It is the food plant for Euphilotes bernardino, the Bernardino dotted blue butterfly.