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Globe gilia spill across
rocky ledges on Figueroa Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest. (Photo
by Helen Tarbet)
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The
second standout spot is
Figueroa Mountain in the
Los Padres National Forest. All the flowers we reported last week
continue to go strong, including a panoply of lupines (Lupinus nanus, L.
bicolor, L. luteolus, L. excubitus, L. luteolus), California poppies,
tidy tips (Layia platyglossa), popcorn flowers (Cryptantha/Plagiobothrys
sp.), phacelia, Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), mariposa
lilies (Calochortus spp.), chia, globe gilia (Gilia capitata),
hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), winecup clarkia (Clarkia
purpurea), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.), and gorgeous
purple Nuttall’s larkspur (Delphinium nuttallii). Owl’s clover is
also fabulous here and there across the mountain. |
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Along Happy Canyon Road on the other side of the mountain, chia (Salvia
columbariae), black sage (Salvia mellifera), and mariposa lilies
are particularly riotous. Brilliant maroon vetch (Vicia sp.) and
Chinese houses are draping the hillsides in hot pink. Indian paintbrush in
crimson, fire-engine red, and orange will also catch your eye, as will the
brilliant yellow of butter lupine (Lupinus luteolus).
Directions to Figueroa Mountain are as follows: Exit onto Highway 154 east
from Highway 101 north. (Take the second Highway 154 exit, the one
about 5 minutes past Buellton.) Turn right and proceed for about two miles
until you see the sign labeled “Figueroa Mountain Road,” with an arrow
pointing to the left. Take Figueroa Mountain Road for several miles into the
Los Padres National Forest. The forest boundary is at mile marker 10.5, but
you will start seeing wildflowers before this. Figueroa Mountain is
continuing to receive yet more rain, so be sure to check conditions before
you go. To learn more, call the Figueroa Mountain ranger station at (805)
925-9538.
Owl's clover continue to
adorn Figueroa Mountain into May 2003. (Photo by Helen Tarbet)
What about the Antelope Valley? As April gives way to May, the
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve continues to see its glory
fade. The hills are rapidly turning brown, although poppies are still
brilliant in patches.
The situation is more colorful in the eastern Antelope Valley near
the town of Littlerock. Pearblossom Highway and Fort Tejon Road are loaded
with desert dandelion (Malacothrix glabrata), phacelia, coreopsis,
blazing star (Mentzelia spp.), and thistle sage (Salvia carduacea).
Parry’s gilia (Gilia parryae) is carpeting the soil and turning the
desert floor pure white in spots.
Botanist Jim Andre reports that the desert bloom, though not as showy as it
was in 1998 or 1993, is still going strong and is quite widespread in the
Mojave Desert and Owens Valley. A very cool April extended the
flowering window for many species of annuals, and shrubs are just beginning
to flower in most places. May should be a great month to see cacti in
flower, along with many showy shrubs such as desert senna (Senna covesii),
goldenbush (Ericameria spp.), and brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).
This continues to be a banner year for annuals, particularly those in the
genera Phacelia, Camissonia (primrose/sun cups) and Oenothera (evening
primrose). Hot spots for annuals right now include the
Mojave National Preserve (especially Ivanpah Valley),
Lake Mead Recreational Area, the southern Owens Valley,
Kramer Junction (Four Corners) along Highway 395, and parts of
Joshua Tree National Park. Many of the desert dunes are still in bloom,
including the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve, which have a nice
display of desert lilies (Hesperocallis undulata) and evening
primrose (Oenothera spp.).
Now a check of our local mountains. In the western Santa Monicas,
photographer Jay Sullivan tells us that the wildflowers are coming on strong
along the
Pentachaeta Trail in Triunfo Creek Park (on
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy land). There are some 90 different
species in bloom here, including several kinds of clarkias and mariposa
lilies (Calochortus spp.), as well as the endangered Lyon’s
pentachaeta (Pentachaeta lyonii). (Click
here to see Sullivan’s photo of Lyon’s pentachaeta.) The trailhead for
Triunfo Creek Park is in Westlake Village at the dead end of Triunfo Canyon
Road, just past the junction with Lindero Canyon Road.
In
the eastern Santa Monica Mountains,
Franklin Canyon Park is rating three out of four stars now. In the
canyon bottom and on the hillsides look for sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus
aurantiacus), California bush sunflower (Encelia californica),
purple nightshade (Solanum xanti), and black sage in full bloom. On
the hillside leading up to the Berman Trail you’ll find purple clarkia (Clarkia
purpurea), strigose lotus (Lotus strigosus), and arroyo lupine (Lupinus
succulentus).
Placerita
Canyon Park in Newhall is still enjoying the best bloom rangers have
seen in many years. Wildflowers are at their peak along the drier trails,
while flowers along the wetter, shadier trails will be at their peak a
little later. Plants that keep blooming more and more robustly include
sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), blue dicks (Dichelostemma
capitatum), mustard primrose (Camissonia californica), deerweed (Lotus
scoparius), and holly-leaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia). The
Ecology Trail boasts a collection of yerba santa (Eriodictyon
crassifolium), common phacelia (Phacelia distans), yellow
pincushion flower (Chaenactis glabriuscula), and Spencer primrose.
In
Riverside county at the
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, the (endangered) thread-leaved
brodiaea (Brodiaea filifolia) is in peak bloom now next to the Main
Vernal Pool, with over 500 blooms open at once. Fairy lanterns (Calochortus
albus) are in full bloom along "Fairy Lane," the chaparral section of
the Vernal Pool Trail (below the lip of the Mesa de Colorado, beyond the
Main Vernal Pool), with about 100 blooms open at once along the trail. The
splendid Mariposa lily (Calochortus splendens) is also in full bloom
along the Vernal Pool Trail, with hundreds of blooms.
Cuyamaca
Rancho State Park east of San Diego is seeing a rapid pickup in blooms,
despite recent zig-zagging temperatures. Cream cups (Platystemon
californicus) and tidy tips (Layia platyglossa) are quite
abundant in open meadows. Phacelia is providing good displays on Upper
Soapstone fire road as well. In lightly shaded areas, look for bajada lupine
(Lupinus concinnus), miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata),
California buttercup (Ranunculus californicus), gilia, owl’s clover,
Pacific sanicle (Sanicula crassicaulis), linanthus, woodland star (Lithophragma
sp.), and spreading larkspur (Delphinium patens). In chaparral
areas, look for the icy blue-violet of chia, the flame red of Indian
pantbrush, and the cool blues of California lilac (Ceanothus spp.)
The intense fuchsia tubes you’ll find growing in sandy areas belong to
Fremont’s monkeyflower (Mimulus fremontii).
Nearby,
the coast range mountains east of Oceanside and San Diego have nice flowers
scattered all through the valleys at 2,000 to 4,000 feet in elevation.
Explore the back roads around Mesa Grande in the Lake Henshaw area; the best
display is on a graded dirt road, Nate Harrison Grade, that runs from
Highway 76 in Pauma Valley to
Palomar Mountain State Park. There are beautiful displays of pale yellow
monkeyflowers as well as San Diego monkeyflowers in bright red to maroon.
There are also entire areas carpeted in Indian paintbrush. At lower
elevations, look for mariposa lilies, phacelia, pearly everlasting (Anaphalis
margaritacea), and more.
Don’t
forget to visit us here at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun
Valley to admire our colorful penstemons, sages, woolly blue curls, Matilija
poppies, and other stunning California natives. Browse for a plant or two to
grow in your own yard. Call us at (818) 768-1802. We look forward to seeing
you! |
